Silver Tongue
by Lullaby121
Summary: Hearing voices has always been normal to Jace. He also understands that other people will not find that normal. His life steadily gets worse as he finds out what those voices mean and what he is.
1. Chapter 1

**So...I was originally going to save the back story I made for Jace for until I had finished with Chandra's but as you can see that didn't happen. I'll just do them both at the same time. How about that? Oh boy.**

* * *

Jordyn smiled and shook his head as he watched his brother sleep. Jace had never really been one for sleep, preferring a book. When he did sleep he looked five years younger than he was. The ten year old never slept in his room. _I'm pretty sure he doesn't like being isolated except that's exactly what he does to himself._ Jordyn shrugged to himself, "Oh well." Jace slept curled up like a cat and he could sleep anywhere. He was currently on the couch in the living room.

Jace shifted slightly in his sleep. Jordyn shook his head. _He already acts like the world rests on his shoulders and his alone. He's the only one that can bear that and it's not the case._ He always slept with his back against something, whether it is a wall or the back of the couch is irrelevant. He won't sleep if his back isn't against something solid. Jordyn smirked, "Well see ya later." He stood and went up the stairs.

Jace opened his eyes. _It's dark._ He sat up and looked around. His left arm was tingly from him laying on it. The house was a little cold but not intolerably so. _I'll just take a look around and then get a book or something._ Jace slid off the couch. He checked every room in the house. He was careful not to wake anyone up when he checked their rooms. His two sisters shared a room and his brother slept in the basement. Jace's room was upstairs but it was not his favorite place to be. It felt cramped and small. It was more often than not the coldest place in the house. Jace went back to the couch and sat on it. He pulled his knees up close to his chest.

He often heard whispers that no one else did. It was kind of creepy but he was used to it. His parents didn't know and neither did any of his siblings. _They'll think I'm crazy and I really don't want that. Besides I'm perfectly content. It's just this kind of background hum anyway. I don't really know what they're saying unless I concentrate on it so whatever. I don't concentrate on it often._ Jace chuckled to himself, "Unless I'm bored. But then I can just blame that on imaginary friends and everything will be okay. Everyone expects a ten year old to have imaginary friends." _That's kind of weird but I guess that since ten still counts as being a kid then they expect me to have childlike behaviors._ Jace shrugged, "Whatever." _I wonder if I can identify who the voices belong to. That would be cool. That'd be kind of weird though. _"One of them sounds like Mom," Jace giggled softly.

"So, I see you're awake," Jordyn said from the doorway.

Jace jumped and looked at him, "What? What'd you do that for? I was thinking."

"About what?" Jordyn asked.

"Nothing important," Jace muttered.

Jordyn sighed and sat next to him.

Jace didn't look at him.

"Okay, important or not," Jordyn tipped his head back and looked at the ceiling, "curiosity demands an answer."

"So?" Jace glanced at him, "Curiosity killed the cat."

"You're the cat though," Jordyn smirked.

Jace's eyes narrowed, "I'm not a cat!"

"You sleep curled up like one. You can sleep anywhere like one and you get into trouble like one," Jordyn shrugged.

Jace cocked his head to the side, "Who's Jarvis?"

Jordyn glanced at him, "I've never mentioned him to you before."

Jace blinked and swallowed nervously, "You haven't? I could've sworn you had."

Jordyn shook his head, "No. But since you somehow know he's my friend. I learned swordplay with him."

"Where's he from?" Jace asked.

"Mountains," Jordyn said vaguely.

"He's your friend. You have to know more than that," Jace insisted.

"Actually, I don't. That's all he said. He's from the mountains," Jordyn said.

"No," Jace leaned forward insistently, "You know more than that."

Jordyn's eyes narrowed, "And?"

"I want to know," Jace said in a matter of fact tone.

"You are ten," Jordyn said, "I am seventeen. I will naturally know more things than you and this will qualify as one of those things."

"What's a planeswlaker?" Jace asked.

Jordyn closed his eyes, "Jace."

Jace swallowed, "Yeah?" His voice was suddenly quiet and sullen.

"I don't know," Jordyn said quickly, "Okay."

Jace nodded, "Okay." _But one of the voices said Jarvis was a planeswalker. What's a planeswalker? Why would Jarvis be one? What does a planeswalker do? Are they different from regular mages? _

Jace jumped as Jordyn stood up suddenly, "What?" _Did I make you mad? I hope not._

"C'mon, Conner's coming today," Jordyn smiled, "We should clean this place up so Mom doesn't get pissed off."

Jace looked around, "But this isn't my mess. Vadanya you and Orriyon did this."

"And?" Jordyn pulled him off the couch, "You live here too. Help clean."

"Fine," Jace sighed. _It's not my mess. I didn't do anything. I just read books. I don't play any of these games._ He flipped through a stack of cards, "Why are these scattered everywhere anyway? I mean they are under the bookshelf."

"Can't reach those huh?" Jordyn asked.

"No one can," Jace said.

"Meaning the set is going to be incomplete," Jordyn nodded.

Jace glanced at him, "I know that."

"And it's going to bug the hell out of Mom," Jordyn finished.

Jace rolled his eyes, "You really think so?"

"You really need to lay off the sarcasm," Jordyn muttered.

Jace shook his head, "Okay. Whatever."

Jordyn sighed. _Mom's going to kill you._

"I don't care," Jace muttered.

Jordyn glanced at him in surprise, "I didn't say anything."

Jace glanced at him before looking away quickly, "I wasn't talking to you."

Jordyn watched him carefully.

Jace felt his brother's gaze on him. _Uh-oh, I really don't want him to start asking awkward questions._ He set the cards down and got to his feet, "I'm going to go, um, up to my room to get something." He shot up the stairs. _That was pathetic. I really need to get better at that if I'm going to be able to sound the least bit convincing. In order to avoid awkward questions I have to be convincing._ Jace sighed, "This is not going to be fun." _What if I am crazy? I mean people don't usually hear voices that sound like their family members all the time. _


	2. Chapter 2

Vadanya walked downstairs. Her shoulder length black hair was already pulled into a ponytail for the day. She noticed Jordyn lying on his stomach in front of the bookshelf. Vadanya cocked her head to the side, "Where's Jace? Doesn't he usually sleep on the couch?"

"He's already awake and in his room," Jordyn said.

"So he's not helping?" Vadanya sat next to him and began to organize the things he had managed to get out from under it.

Jordyn shrugged, "He might be cleaning his room."

"He's not," Vadanya shook her head, "He's lazy. Besides he's been one for cleaning."

Jordyn glanced at her, "You never know."

Vadanya chuckled, "People don't change overnight." She sighed. _They don't. Sometimes I wish he would. It's like Jace doesn't even know we exist. Or he doesn't care. Either way he's not here for us._ She shook her head.

"C'mon," Jordyn smiled, "He's ten. He can't spend all his time with us."

"He doesn't spend any time with us," Vadanya muttered. She got to her feet, "I'm going to see if Orriyon's awake."

Jordyn nodded, "Well awesome. That's two in one day."

Vadanya walked past Jace's bedroom door. He had a room all to himself but he was rarely ever there. She knocked on the door.

"What?" Jace asked from the other side of the door.

"Mom's gonna be up soon," Vadanya said, "You should go downstairs and help Jordyn and me clean up."

"I'm good," Jace responded, "It's not my mess."

"Okay," Vadanya continued on to the room she shared with Orriyon. _Why doesn't he ever help? Well I guess he explains that every time I try to get him to help. He doesn't think it's his mess. It's just as much his mess as it is Jordyn's but you don't see Jordyn complaining. He helps us out all the time._ She opened the door and glanced at her sister's bed. The three year old Orriyon was sound asleep. Vadanya smiled, "I'll let you sleep a little longer."

"But you came pounding on my door?" Jace asked from behind her.

"You were already awake," Vadanya said quietly, "Besides, you're never in your room if you're asleep."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

Vadanya watched him walk away, down the stairs. _I would say I'm sorry but Mom's going to kill us if we don't get this done by the afternoon._ She followed and started cleaning the kitchen. _Why is he so adamant about not doing anything? I don't get it._

"Good morning Children," their mother said as the door opened.

Vadanya smiled tensely, "Hello Mom."

Jordyn smiled, "Hey Mom. We were just cleaning up so Conner can come."

"Well good job," she smiled warmly. She looked around, "Is Orriyon up yet?"

"No," Vadanya whispered.

"Wake her up please. She can walk and so she can help."

Vadanya nodded and hurried up the stairs. She opened the door to her room and sat on the end of Orriyon's bed. She was three but had a rather large bed. Her blond hair went to the middle of her back. Is was a very pale blonde and blended in with her skin. Often times she looked sick when she was fine. Vadanya smiled and gently shook her, "Hey, wake up. Conner's coming."

Orriyon opened her eyes groggily and whined, "But I don't wanna get up."

"C'mon," Vadanya insisted, "Conner coming."

"She is?" Orriyon asked as she slowly sat up. Her voice was quiet and soft. "Okay." She grabbed Vadanya's hand and followed her downstairs.

Jordyn grinned at the only blond in the family, "Hey! How're you doing this fine morning?"

"I'm fine," Orriyon smiled.

"That's good," Jordyn nodded.

Jace ignored her.

Vadanya noticed Orriyon glance at Jace and then look away. She looked at him. _He doesn't even care. I mean Orriyon obviously wants him to say hi but he's not even looking at her._ She walked over to where Orriyon was putting cards in their respective boxes, "Hey, do you wanna help me?"

"Okay," Orriyon nodded. She followed Vadanya over to the table and sat in a chair. Vadanya grabbed the cards and then finished organizing them. Once they were organized she passed them over to Orriyon. Orriyon put them in the respective boxes. Vadanya glanced at Jace and Jordyn. Jace was acting odd. He seemed completely absorbed with staring at the bookshelf. Vadanya sighed. _I'll just play with Orriyon. I know I can't be there in place of him but he's just ignoring her._ Vadanya shrugged.

There was a knock on the door.

"I got it!" Jordyn stood and answered the door, "Conner!"

Vadanya smiled, "Hi!"

Jace got to his feet and slid quickly up the stairs.

Vadanya watched him. _Whenever someone's here he runs off like that. Why? _

Conner smiled, "Hey guys. How're you?"

"We're fine," Jordyn grinned.

Orriyon watched Conner walk in.

"Hey Orriyon," Conner sat next to her and smiled.

"Hi," Orriyon put the last set of cards in the box.

Conner glanced at Jordyn, "How many sets of cards do you have?"

"One for every time we've lost one," Jordyn shrugged sheepishly.

Vadanya chuckled.

Conner hugged Orriyon. She smiled at Vadanya, "How're you?"

"I'm fine," Vadanya nodded, "still a little tired."

Conner nodded, "Alright." She hugged Vadanya, "So what's the plan for today?"

"Can we play outside?" Orriyon asked.

Jordyn looked around, "Any objections?"

Vadanya and Conner shook their heads.

Jordyn picked up Orriyon, "Then let's go!" He led the way outside. They sat on the soft grass that grew behind the house. It was warm outside but there was a crisp autumn breeze. The sun was in the center of the sky. The area was pretty much treeless except a few here and there.

Vadanya almost instantly noticed Jace watching them from the window. He looked kind of sad and lonely. The moment he saw her watching him he disappeared from the window.

"Does anyone want to invite Jace out?" Conner asked. She was also looking up at the window.

Vadanya's eyes narrowed, "He won't want to come out."

Conner glanced at her in surprise, "What's with the sour tone?"

Vadanya shrugged, "He won't want to come out. He's declined every time we've invited him out before."

Conner shrugged, "So? People change."

Vadanya sighed. _Not overnight. No one will change overnight. _

Jordyn got to his feet, "I got it." He hurried back into the house.


	3. Chapter 3

Jace growled as Jordyn knocked on his bedroom door. _C'mon Jace. Come outside with us. _Jace shook his head, "I'm not going outside."

Jordyn paused, "Uh, but I didn't say anything."

Jace's eyes widened. _Uh-oh. Um, I don't know what to say!_ "I figured that's what you would ask," he said quickly.

Jordyn nodded, "Well come on out. Orriyon wants you to."

"Don't care. She has you and Conner and Vadanya," Jace muttered. He looked back out the window and added more quietly, "She doesn't need me."

"You're her big brother!" Jordyn insisted. _It's your job to look after your younger siblings. Maybe you didn't ask for it but it is your job._

"Shut up!" Jace snarled, "Go away! I'm not going out. I don't care about what you think!"

Jordyn sighed in frustration, "Fine." _Orriyon wants you to._

Jace glared at the door. _I don't care if she wants me to go outside! I'm staying here._ Jace turned back to the window. He spent the rest of the day watching them play outside. Vadanya chased Orriyon around the grass. Conner and Jordyn looked on. Vadanya looked angrily up at him multiple times. Whenever she did Jace looked away from the window. _None of them need me. I don't want to ruin their fun. _Jace sighed, "I'm hungry." He walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Why aren't you outside with your siblings?" his mother asked in a slightly accusatory voice.

Jace glanced at her, "Because I don't want to be."

"Really?" she rolled her eyes, "Fine." _Why can't you be more like Jordyn? At least he'll play with all of you._

Jace growled, "I'm just getting something to eat." _Then I'll be out of your skin._ He grabbed an apple and hurried back up to his room. _'At least he'll play with all of you.' I'm not Jordyn alright! I can't do what he does!_ Jace glared out his window at his older brother. _Why does everyone want me to be more like you? I'm not you. I'm not seventeen. I'm ten. Even Vadanya and Orriyon want me to be you. And Conner. Everyone wants me to be more like you. That doesn't make any sense. It's stupid to expect someone to be a completely different person. Yet that's what everyone wants from me. That's what everyone expects from me. _Jace sighed and pulled his knees up close to his chest, "Whatever. I don't care anymore."

"Jace!"

Jace lifted his head off his knees, "What?"

"C'mon! Conner's leaving."

Jace sighed, "Whatever." He got to his feet and walked down the stairs. He hovered at the base of the stairs.

"There you are Jace," Conner smiled warmly, "I didn't see you today." _He looks so much like Jordyn yet he's so different._

Jace glared at her. _She tries to hide it. She tries to treat me just the same as them. But she doesn't see me the same way._ Jace's eyes narrowed.

Conner cocked her head to the side, "Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine," Jace muttered.

"Okay," Conner ruffled his hair the same way she always did.

Jace sighed but remained tense.

Conner smiled at him again but it was tenser. She turned and hugged Orriyon and Vadanya. She punched Jordyn's arm before she left, throwing a last smile over her shoulder.

Vadanya walked calmly past Jace. She didn't spare him a glance.

Jace growled softly.

Jordyn sighed, "C'mon, we should do something together." _Hopefully Jace will agree._

"I'm good," Jace said quickly. He darted up the stairs to his room.

"Okay," Vadanya said as he disappeared.

Jace sat on his bed. _I'm just psyching myself out anyway. I mean they can't really expect me to be Jordyn._ He glanced out his window.

"Jace, play with your siblings. You can't stay in your room forever." _Why are you so closed? Jordyn has never kept secrets._

Jace growled, "No!" _I'm not Jordyn! Stop comparing me to him!_ "I'm going to sleep," Jace curled up on his bed.

"Fine."

Jace listened to his mother walk away from the door, "Why does everyone want me to be Jordyn?" He sat up and stared sadly out the window, "Why? I'm not Jordyn but because everyone wants me to be I don't have the ability to be me. I don't have the ability to like what I like and do what I want to do." He spent the rest of the night staring out the window.

"Jordyn," Jace heard his mother say when he went downstairs the next morning.

"Yeah?"

Jace stayed around the corner and listened.

"Would you mind taking your brother to a sparring match so he can learn?" _So he could maybe take your place when you leave._

Jace's eyes narrowed angrily.

Jordyn shrugged, "Sure. I'll be happy to."

Jace hissed through gritted teeth.

"Jace!" Jordyn called. He went to jump up the stairs but saw Jace hovering in the kitchen. Jordyn swallowed nervously at the angry glare his brother gave him, "Hey, you wanna meet Jarvis?"

Jace continued to glare at him and remained silent.

Jordyn stepped back nervously.

Jace blinked back tears of anger, "Why? Why?"

Jordyn stared at him, "Why what?"

Jace shoved past him and shot up the stairs.

"Jace! Wait! C'mon, you'll get to meet Jarvis!" Jordyn followed him.

"I don't care," Jace shut the bedroom door quietly.

"C'mon! Mom wants you to."

"I know," Jace stared out the window as the morning sun rose.

"Jace, you'll get to meet Jarvis. Last night you were asking all sorts of questions about him," Jordyn reminded him.

_I don't care. I don't want to do this._

"Besides, I can teach you. It's not like you'll be a burden."

Jace glared at the bedroom door, "Go away."

Jordyn sighed, "Mom's going to make you come along. You can ignore me all you want but Mom will make you." He walked away.

Jace clenched his fists at his side. _Fine. Fine, Mom's going to make me. I might as well not piss her off._ He slowly opened the door. Vadanya stood in her doorway. She had obviously seen and heard everything. Jace glanced at her before walking slowly down the stairs. He heard her bedroom door close but no footsteps followed him. _Whatever. It's fine. I can just do this my way._ He met his brother at the door.

"Ready to go?" Jordyn asked.

"Sure," Jace muttered.

Jordyn sighed, "C'mon." He led the way. They arrived at a cliff. Jarvis appeared in a sudden flare of flame shaped light. Jace's eyes narrowed against it. He had rose colored hair and bright playful blue eyes. Jace stepped back warily. He was about the size of his brother and looked to be of a similar age. He smiled welcomingly at Jace, "Hey. What's up?"

"This is my brother, Jace," Jordyn said. He put his hand on Jace's head.

Jarvis smiled, "He reminds me of my sister. She's just a bit younger than him though. I'm Jarvis."

Jace nodded, "I know."

Jarvis glanced at Jordyn in surprise.

"I'm not sure how he knows but he asked me about you the night before," Jordyn shrugged.

Jace watched Jarvis through narrowed eyes.

"He's here because Mom wants him to learn," Jordyn shrugged.

Jarvis smiled, "Cool." _I might have to teach my sister. Well, maybe not. I don't know. I'm not sure she has the attention span to be able to learn._

Jace cocked his head to the side. _He doesn't expect me to be like Jordyn._

"So?" Jarvis looked at Jordyn, "Who starts?"

Jordyn shrugged. He looked at Jace, "You just watch the first few times alright?"

Jace rolled his eyes, "Whatever." He walked over to the cliff edge and sat. The grass was warm and the water far below pushed up against the cliff walls. He let his legs swing. His shoes set lose rock free when they hit the rock. He watched the sand tumble down the cliff edge. He didn't bother paying attention to his brother or friend.

"Jace!" Jordyn called once the sun began to set.

Jace looked at him, "We're leaving now."

Jordyn nodded.

Jarvis smiled, "See ya guys!"

Jace looked at him, "Wait!"

Jarvis turned to look at him. A cheerful smile lit up his face, "Yeah?"

"What's a planeswalker?" Jace asked.

Jarvis laughed, "You don't waste time do you? Straight to the point." He walked up to Jace, "I'll tell you that story sometime. I promise I will. For right now though we both have places we have to be." He disappeared.

Jace shielded his eyes from the bright light. He could see traces of actual flame as he faded from Jace's vision. Jace looked at Jordyn in confusion, "How does he do that?"

Jordyn shrugged, "Don't quite know myself."

Jace sighed and followed him back to the house.


	4. Chapter 4

"Who's that?" Jace asked as he walked in the door. He pointed to the newcomer to the house. He was a middle aged man with attentive brown eyes and short blond hair. His battle worn armor leaned against the wall. He wore dark grey trousers and a black shirt. His jacket was knee length and a darker grey than his pants. Jace could easily see nine pockets in the jacket. Some obviously held stuff while others appeared to be empty.

"He's the captain of the guard and mom's boyfriend," Vadanya explained dully.

Jace glanced from her to him and back again. He remained silent. _Okay, why is here now? _"That was slightly unhelpful."

Vadanya glanced at him. The slightest hint of anger flashed in her eyes, "What else did you want me to tell you?"

"His name would be nice," Jace muttered.

"Kylle," he smiled warmly at Jace. Jace glanced at him and quickly identified the falseness of it. "_You're a little smaller than I expected. It looks like you can't even lift a sword."_ Jace glared at him. He bit his tongue instead of speaking. _They're gonna think I'm crazy._ He sighed, "Whatever."

"Is he always like this?" Kylle asked.

Vadanya nodded, "Pretty much."

Jace glanced at her, "No."

Vadanya ignored him.

Kylle looked Jordyn over, "A swordsman huh?"

Jordyn nodded, "Yeah."

_Wow, a kid that's actually good for something. _"How long have you been practicing?"

"A while," Jordyn nodded, "I'm teaching Jace now." He ruffled his little brother's hair.

Jace ignored him and studied his feet. _This sucks. Why does everyone only ever see worth in Jordyn? Why does being able to use a weapon dictate one's place in this world? Why can't I just…I don't know. Never mind. Whatever._ Jace shook his head.

Orriyon smiled, "Hi, Jace."

Jace glanced at her, "Hey." He didn't bother focusing on his sister's corresponding voices in his head. Instead he studied Kylle. He was talking to Jordyn about swordplay. _This kid is good. I wonder who taught him. He should join the city guard and hopefully he'll be able to toughen up his little brother. That would be even better. Have them both join the city guard._

Jace stared dully at the plate sitting in front of him.

"You should eat," Kylle suggested, "Get some meat on your bones."

Jace glanced up at him, "Actually I'm not hungry."

His mother looked at him, "Eat. You are not leaving this table until you do."

"Would you lay off?" Jace snapped suddenly, "Quit trying to impress your new boyfriend. I don't care."

Kylle's eyes widened significantly.

His mother stared at him, "What?"

Jace swallowed and shrank against the back of the chair, "Never mind." He stared at the plate. _That was dumb. Why'd I do that? My life is going to suck for a while. I managed to make Mom mad and I made a bad impression on Kylle. Awesome. Just screw everything up while you're at it._ Jace glanced up tentatively. His gaze quickly returned to the plate in front of him. He quickly faded into the background. Vadanya and Orriyon were playing cards on the floor while his mother watched. Kylle and Jordyn were sitting on the couch talking about swords. Jace waited until he was no longer being paid attention to at all. He slid through the kitchen and upstairs. _I really messed up this time._ He sat on his bed and stared out the window. 

"Jace," Jordyn knocked softly and hesitantly on his door. He swallowed, "Mom wants you downstairs."

Jace stared out the window and pretended not to hear him.

"Um, Jace, Mom wants you now."

Jace growled, "Tell her I'm coming in a second."

Jordyn sighed, "By the way Kylle's basically living here now. Mom says that if you lash out like that again then you'll be in more trouble than you can imagine." His brother walked away.

Jace sighed and studied the horizon, "Like I needed any help coming up with a worst case scenario." He slowly got to his feet and walked out his bedroom door.

_I'm actually kind of worried. He's never been in his room this much._ Jace recognized Jordyn. He stared at the ground as he walked as slowly as he could down the stairs.

"Jace," his mother said once she saw him.

Jace stopped walking and stared at the ground.

"Look at me," his mother ordered.

Jace looked at her but lifted his head as little as possible.

"Lift your head up," his mother said. Her voice held a false gentleness that was meant to disguise her anger.

Jace swallowed and lifted his head. _I'm so dead. I'm deader than dead. She's gonna burn me to a crisp._

"I don't want to see you lash out like that again. Do you understand? If you do you will get more than just a gentle reminder."

Jace nodded. He could feel Kylle studying him but resisted the urge to look at the blond man.

_It was incredibly rude. You're lucky your mother is so kind. _

"Good," his mother nodded.

Jace clenched and unclenched his fists nervously. _Is that it? _He didn't dare ask out loud.

"You can go back to whatever you were doing then," she nodded.

Jace nodded and walked towards the stairs. Once he was sure they couldn't see him anymore his pace picked up. He shot into his room and slammed the door shut. Instantly he cringed.

"Jace!"

Jace opened it and slid back down the stairs, "Sorry. It wasn't supposed to slam like that."

"Then be more careful with it," his mother said.

Jace nodded.

"I expect you to go with your brother again tomorrow. You're going to spend your afternoons learning swordplay from him every day."

Jace nodded, "Okay."

"That's it."

He went back up to his room, closing the door quietly. _I wouldn't exactly call Mom nice. She's a mother. _Jace chuckled to himself. _Maybe that was kind of mean._ He walked over to the bookshelf that sat against the wall on his left side. His bed ran the length of the wall that had the window. A book shelf sat in the middle of either wall. The walls were a dull white. There was nothing on the floor. Anyone would have thought Jace was organized by looking at the room itself. The bookshelves sat exactly in the center of their respective walls. The bed was made and neat. Each side of the bed was the same distance from the right and left hand walls. The contents of the bookshelves however betrayed his lack of organization. Books were stacked on top of each other haphazardly and pulling out one book led to an avalanche. They were also stacked on top of the bookshelves in precariously balanced stacks.

Jace looked through the book shelf. He sighed disappointedly, "I don't remember where I put it. That one was actually interesting." _I could try harder to look for it but then that'll create a giant mess of books that I'll never actually clean up. Then Mom really will destroy me. _ Jace glanced around, "Then again it might be in the living room. Everyone would've gone to bed by now anyway." _I could just sit on the couch. The living room would have better lighting anyway._ His gaze returned to the bookshelf, "Having something to do would be nice though." The book he wanted was in the middle of one of the stacks. Jace gritted his teeth, "This is gonna be difficult." He carefully started easing the book out of the stack. _Don't fall. Don't fall. Please, don't fall. I don't want anyone coming up here because my books decided to attack me._ Eventually he managed to get the book and left his room.

"What are you doing up at a time like this?"

Jace froze.

Kylle was sitting on the couch sharpening his sword. He watched Jace carefully.

Jace studied the ground, "Nothing." He slid back up to his room. _So much for reading. Of course that's just my luck. He shows up and suddenly everything falls down a whirlpool. Mom's a control freak all of a sudden and I have to learn how to use swords? That's not fair. All to impress that dimwit? _"I'll just stay in my room," Jace set the book on top of the bookshelf and sat on his bed, "I mean I've gone a couple days without sleep before."


	5. Chapter 5

Vadanya walked quietly down the stairs. She met Jordyn on his way up from the basement.

"Where's Jace?" He asked Kylle.

_I personally don't like Kylle. There's something off about him. _Vadanya shrugged, "Whatever."

"In his room," Kylle looked surprised at the question.

"That's weird," Jordyn looked around before hurrying up the stairs.

Vadanya cocked her head to the side, "But he never sleeps in there. He doesn't even spend his nights in there."

Kylle shrugged.

Vadanya's eyes narrowed. _I really don't like this guy. Mom acts weird with him around too. Sure she's always been a bit controlling but she's never forced Jace to eat when he doesn't want to. _She sighed, "Oh well." She went back up to her room to check on Orriyon.

Orriyon was sitting up and staring at the wall.

"What's up?" Vadanya asked. Worry crept into her voice, "Is something wrong?"

Orriyon looked at her, "Well, I don't want to go downstairs. I don't like Kylle. He was alright at first but I can't shake my bad feeling."

_She's three! How can she sense that?_ Vadanya sat down next to her, "He's not that bad. Besides, Mom likes him. Her job is to do what's best for all of us."

Orriyon met Vadanya's gaze, "But you don't believe what you're saying."

Vadanya gritted her teeth, "I have my own doubts but don't let that impact your own opinions."

Orriyon nodded, "Okay. I think we can all feel it though."

Vadanya nodded.

"Danya, you in there?" Jordyn asked.

"Yeah!" Vadanya nodded.

"Alright, Jace and I are leaving. Can you tell Mom when she wakes up?"

Vadanya walked up to her door, "Yeah. I can tell her."

"Thanks," Jordyn smiled and flipped her hair. He smiled at Orriyon, "Hey, what's up?"

Orriyon smiled, "Nothing much. I'm kind of hungry."

"Is it just me or is she crazy perceptive for a three year old?" Vadanya whispered.

Jordyn shrugged, "She's like Jace. She just picks up on things easier and faster than the stereotypical three year old."

"Last I checked, three year olds don't talk or act like she does," Jace muttered.

Vadanya shrugged, "She's our sister so whatever. Being youngest comes with its own perks."

Jace shrugged.

Vadanya walked over to Orriyon and grabbed her hand. The two of them walked down the stairs.

"Good morning ladies," Kylle smiled at them.

Vadanya nodded, "Good morning."

"There's no need to be so professional," Kylle chuckled.

Vadanya met his gaze evenly, "I'm not yet comfortable with your presence here so I will not drop the formalities until then."

Kylle's eyes widened, "Very well said for your age."

"We're all advanced for our ages," Vadanya said. She was careful to keep her voice as neutral as she could.

Kylle nodded.

Jace and Jordyn left.

Vadanya watched them leave before leading Orriyon to the table. _I really don't like him. There's this edge to his voice that he seems to expect to go over our heads. We may be young but we aren't deaf._ Vadanya growled softly. She turned to Orriyon, "Let's play cards."

She watched the sun set over the course of the day.

"Vadanya I'm tired."

"Okay," Vadanya led the way up the stairs.

"It's not her bedtime yet," her mother said.

Vadanya stopped halfway up the stairs and glanced at her, "She's tired. I'll wake her up for dinner."

"It's not her bedtime yet. I want her to be able to sleep tonight."

_It's not like you've cared before. _"Yes Mom."

Vadanya led the way back to the table.

When Jace and Jordyn came back it was dark and they had already eaten dinner. Kylle ignored Jace but started talking to Jordyn. Vadanya watched from the top of the stairs, "I don't like him." She glanced at the clock. Orriyon sat against her side. The young blond was fast asleep. _It's not her bedtime yet and I don't want mom to get mad at her. I'll carry her to bed when it is her bed time._ Vadanya stiffened as she heard someone coming up the stairs.

Jace glanced at her then at the clock, "Oh."

"Be quiet," Vadanya hissed.

Jace nodded.

Vadanya looked at him, "What are you doing?"

"Going to my room."

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

Vadanya's eyes narrowed, "To pout."

Jace glared at her, "No." He walked past her, "To read."

"There's no light. It's dark," Vadanya pointed out.

"Like I care."

Vadanya shrugged, "Okay." She turned so she was facing the base of the stairs again. _That's gotta suck. I mean he's being ignored. It's obvious that Kylle doesn't see any value in him because he can't use any weapons yet._ She sighed, "Of course he wouldn't look at me or Orriyon the same way he looks at Jace and Jordyn." Her eyes narrowed. _I'm going to learn to use swords. Let's see what he thinks of that._ _I'll have to wait until Orriyon can look after herself though. That'll be a couple of years. _She put her chin in her hand, "Well crap. I have to be bigger anyway though so I guess that'll have to work." She glanced at the clock, "Two minutes. Well close enough. Mom can't complain about a two minute difference." Careful not to wake her up, she lifted Orriyon up and carried her into the room. _Opening a door while carrying someone is a lot harder than one would think._ She sat on her bed and watched her sister sleep, "Well at least you aren't stuck in your head. I am and Jace even more so. Of course that's his own fault but whatever." _I guess being stuck in my head is my choice. What else am I supposed to do? I can't voice any of my concerns to Mom and definitely not Kylle._ "I guess I could talk to Jordyn but meh."

She walked up to the window and opened the curtains. The moon sat high in the sky, bathing the room in a silver light.

"The moon holds bad luck," Orriyon said.

Vadanya turned to her, "What do you mean?"

"It holds bad luck," Orriyon shrugged.

Vadanya cocked her head to the side, "Okay?" _I thought you were asleep._

"Hey, Vadanya," Orriyon asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"Can you promise me that you won't go out at night?" Orriyon asked.

Vadanya nodded, "Of course. I don't like being out at night anyway."

Orriyon smiled, "Okay." She laid back down and quickly fell back asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Jace stared at Jordyn, "Why?" His tone was filled with his disapproval.

"Because Kylle, of all people, wants to check up on your progress in the next few days," Jordyn sighed, "and I don't want him getting mad at you."

Jarvis smiled, "Let him warm up to the idea." _Kids can be seriously stubborn about stuff they don't want to do. _"At least he asked for your reason," Jarvis laughed.

"Why wouldn't I?" Jace asked indignantly.

"I'm just saying that you just strait out tell him no," Jarvis smirked, "The situation could always be worse."

"You're extremely positive," Jace muttered.

"I don't see that as a bad thing," Jarvis shrugged, "It just means that the little things won't get me down."

"Positivity is something most people learn," Jordyn added.

"Oh," Jace sighed. _Kylle wants to check up on my progress? Why? Last I checked he didn't care about me._ "Why is Kylle checking up on me when Mom's the one that wanted me to do this?" Jace's voice held a bit more spite then he had intended.

Jordyn shrugged, "Because he wants to see you be able to use weapons. I have no idea. It's just what he told me last night."

Jace growled. _So by doing this I'd be showing my worth to him. Great, I don't want him to like me anyway._ Jace sat stubbornly on the ground, "I won't do it."

Jarvis laughed, "You really remind me of my sister."

"That's great," Jace snapped.

Jarvis started laughing more, "You know reminding someone of someone else does not mean that they see you as that person."

Jace's eyes widened in surprise, "Wait? What?"

"It was written all over your attitude," Jarvis smiled, "You don't need to be able to read people's minds to be able to read their thoughts."

Jace blinked before shaking his head, "Okay, whatever."

"And there you go sounding like Danya," Jordyn sighed, "At least give it some thought. I don't want you getting in trouble."

Jace nodded. _I don't want to do it._ He watched Jordyn and Jarvis spar. The two of them were evenly matched and never beat each other. _I don't understand why they bother. Neither of them will ever come out on top._ Jace lied on his back and stared at the sky. He put his hands behind his head. _What if the voices I'm hearing in my head are actually in everyone else's heads and I _

"Let's take a break," Jarvis said just as Jace was starting to doze off. Jace sat up and stared at them, "You look tired."

"You looked half asleep just a second ago," Jordyn commented lightly.

Jace rolled his eyes, "I was thinking."

"Last I checked you don't look half asleep when you think."

"Shut up," Jace muttered, "So what? I had been thinking and that wasn't filling the time."

"So you dozed off but remained awake enough to pay attention to what's going on around you," Jordyn sighed.

Jace shrugged.

"Do you ever sleep?" Jarvis asked.

"Sometimes," Jace shrugged.

"More like never," Jordyn corrected.

"I do too sleep!"

"C'mon," Jordyn sighed, "I think we should head back."

Jace nodded. He walked ahead on the way home.

"How'd it go?" Kylle asked the moment they walked in. Jace ignored him and walked up to his room.

"It was fine," Jordyn answered vaguely.

Jace flopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, "What if the 'voices' are just the thoughts running through everyone else's heads? That would certainly explain why they look at me the way they do." _Then again I could just be confusing myself…or aggrandizing myself. Either one. _Jace chuckled to himself.

"Jace!"

Jace sighed at the sound of his name, "I'm asleep." He rolled onto his side so his back was facing the door. _Actually no. I'll just close my eyes that way they'll think I'm asleep._ He rolled over so he was facing his bedroom door and closed his eyes. _Of course actually falling asleep might be a good idea. Then again I'd really rather not. _There was a knock on his bedroom door, "Jace." Jace stiffened. _I'm asleep, Mom. I'm asleep._

"Jace," the door opened.

Jace did his best to keep his breathing regular though he could feel her gaze. _You are making me really uncomfortable. Could you please just go away now? _

"Are you asleep?" She asked in surprise.

_No, but that's beside the point._ Jace resisted the urge to growl as his shoulder began to itch. _You just had to itch now didn't you? I'm trying to convince Mom that I'm asleep and my shoulder starts to itch._

"Jace?"

Jace's jaw clenched. _Just go already so I can deal with my shoulder!_

"You really are asleep. I'll just let you sleep then."

Jace sighed in relief and opened his eyes as the door closed behind her. _That was terrible. Now naturally my shoulder doesn't itch anymore. I wonder when Kylle will "check on my progress". _Jace sat up and looked out the window, "I wonder how much trouble I'll be in."

The next day Kylle accompanied them.

Jace's eyes widened, "What? But you said a few days!"

"I changed my mind," Kylle shrugged, "Is that a problem?"

Jace studied the ground, "No."

"Okay then."

"This is Jarvis," Jordyn introduced his pink haired friend.

Kylle nodded.

Jace sat against Jarvis' favorite tree.

"C'mon, that's my tree," Jarvis said playfully.

Jace shrugged indifferently, "Okay."

"Well?" Kylle glanced at him expectantly.

"What?" Jace asked. The slightest hint of defiance glinted in his eyes.

Jarvis sighed, "Oh boy." He sat down next to Jace, against the tree.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" Kylle asked.

Jace shook his head, "No. Why would I?"

Kylle's eyes narrowed, "You haven't been doing anything, have you?"

"And if I haven't been doing anything?" Jace asked.

Jarvis bit his lip, "I really don't feel like this is going well."

Jace glanced at him.

"So you aren't putting any effort into being able to defend yourself and those close to you?" Kylle asked.

Jace stared at him, "Uh…"

Jordyn stepped back in shock. _Wait what?_

"That is the reason people learn to wield and use weapons," Kylle's tone became cold, "It is the reason people learn to fight. Imagine if one of your younger sisters was in danger, what then? If you can't fight then you can't protect them." His eyes narrowed, "And your sharp tongue might just get you or your family killed."

Jace remained silent. His gaze shifted to the ground. _That's not fair. It's not that I don't want to protect them. I just—_

"Well? Are you going to continue to waste your time being defiant and cursing your mother or are you actually going to put effort into it?" Kylle asked.

Jace clenched his fists.

"Or are you just a burden to your family?"

Jace gritted his teeth. _Shut up. Just shut up!_

"Are you going to let them protect you or are you going to do your part to protect them?" _Are you really that worthless?_

Jarvis watched uneasily.

Jace bit his tongue. _If I say anything then I'll just get ripped into further. He really doesn't care. _

"Well? Are you going to answer me?"

"It's obvious that he gets it alright?" Jordyn intervened, "There was no need to say half of those things to him."

Jace stood up and wandered off.

Jarvis watched worriedly, "I really hope he doesn't do anything stupid."


	7. Chapter 7

"Vadanya, your brother's aren't back yet," her mother said. Kylle had returned a little while ago. He had told them that Jace had stormed off and Jordyn had gone to go find him.

Vadanya looked at her mother expectantly, "Yeah?"

"I want you to go find them."

Vadanya cocked her head to the side, "But I'm—"

"Just please go find them. They can't be that far from the house so you won't be going far."

Vadanya nodded, "Sure."

Orriyon watched her get her shoes on, "Be careful."

Vadanya nodded, "Of course." She left the house. _Why me? You can't expect me to find them. Besides, I promised Orriyon I wouldn't go out at night. But no. You had to go and make me go out at night._ Vadanya walked warily through the city and into the plains that ran nearby. _Okay, so there's a cliff nearby. That much I know. I'm going to have to be careful of that._ "Okay, the openness of this place is really scary at night," Vadanya looked around, "I don't think I'm going to sleep for a while." _Jace why'd you have to storm off? If you hadn't I wouldn't be doing this right now._ Vadanya looked around again. She was suddenly painfully aware of how tasty she probably looked to a large carnivore. _Like a dragon or an abnormally sized bird of prey. _"Okay, I'm done with this." _No more thinking like that._

"Well, well, what is this? A nice snack just wandering into my territory?"

Vadanya turned. _What the? Who's there?!_ By the light of the moon she managed to see a lithe figure walking confidently towards her.

"Your fear, how sweet it smells."

Vadanya couldn't deny the fact that she was absolutely terrified. _If I run I'll probably get chased down but if I don't move then I'm screwed. What do I do?!_

"Check mate," She transformed into a wolf and leaped at her.

Vadanya darted away.

She turned back into a human, "You're quite the nimble little girl aren't you?"

Vadanya shook her head, "I wanna go home."

"But in order to get home you have to get past me, or am I mistaken?"

Vadanya swallowed nervously, "So?"

She laughed, "Ah, defiance." She turned back into a wolf and leaped forward again. This time she didn't let up.

Vadanya felt something shift within her. At the same time the werewolf's fangs dug into her leg. Vadanya screamed in pain. She caught a glimpse of a place filled with multicolored mists and unfamiliar places. She felt herself starting to slip out of consciousness and into the mist. _No! I have to stay! I have to look after Orriyon!_ She blinked and saw the woman licking her lips and walking calmly towards her.

"I knew you'd taste sweet," she leaped forward changing form as she did so.

Vadanya managed to shift so the wolf missed. Pain shot through her head as sharp claws dug into her left eye. She had managed to close her eyes in time to avoid losing her eye. The thought that she'd be half blind crossed her mind before pain brought her back to what was happening. The werewolf started to rip her apart.

Suddenly it was knocked off of her. "Leave her alone," Vadanya heard an unfamiliar voice say. Her eyes closed and everything faded to black.

Jace followed Jordyn into the house sullenly. Orriyon sat at the table playing cards with herself.

"Where's Vadanya?" their mother asked.

"She's not here?" Jordyn asked.

"I sent her after you."

"Why? She's five," Jace muttered.

"And able to look after herself long enough to find her two brothers."

"Yeah right," Jace snapped.

Jordyn glanced at him. "We've had a bad day," he explained quickly. He grabbed Jace's arm, "Let's go find Vadanya."

"Why? She's probably fine other than a little lost," Jace rolled his eyes.

"And if she isn't I'm not going to not go looking for her."

_And it's my fault she's out here in the first place which is why I'm stuck coming with you._ Jace sighed. He stared at the ground.

"Vadanya!"

Jace quickly picked up the sickening scent of blood. He gagged, "That's disgusting." He watched Jordyn walked over to where their sister was lying on the ground. She was covered in scratches and bruises. Jarvis sat next to her leaning against the tree, "I managed to heal her enough that she isn't going to permanently impaired for any reason. However I'm not a professional healer so that was all I was able to do."

Jace stared at her in shock. _She's actually not fine. I would have just sat and waited for her to come home. She never would have until Jarvis got tired of waiting for someone to come get her and carried her himself. _He saw a wolf lying on the ground a little while away.

"Let's get home," Jordyn said. He glanced at Jace. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. He was staring around them in shock and horror. "Jace," he snapped his fingers in front of his face to get his attention.

Jace jumped, "Huh?"

"We're heading home," Jordyn said.

Jace nodded quickly. He swallowed quickly. Jarvis was standing now, "It's alright. You can't ever blame yourself for circumstance."

Jace nodded again.

Jordyn carried Vadanya all the way home.

"What happened?" their mother called in shock.

_You sent a five year old out after dark when you shouldn't have. _Jace sighed. He slipped through the living room to go to his room.

"If you hadn't run off then she wouldn't have been sent to look for you."

Jace froze. He clenched his fists, "Quit making this about me. I already know what could have happened if things had gone differently." _I already played it over in my head a thousand times. Besides you're the ones that made her go out there to look for me._ Jace continued to his room.

Vadanya opened her eyes. _I can see out of both my eyes._ She sat up and looked around, "Orriyon?" Her younger sister was curled up on the floor in front of the couch.

"Are you alright?" Kylle asked.

Vadanya glanced at him. Her eyes reflected the ambient light that illuminated the room. Kylle stepped back warily. Vadanya nodded, "I'm fine." She sat up and looked around.

"You're positive?"

Vadanya's eyes flashed angrily. "I told you I'm fine," she hissed savagely.

"You don't seem fine."

Vadanya noticed Orriyon shift slightly. She took a steadying breath, "I'm fine. Go away." _I'm not going to wake up Orriyon because of you. _She watched Kylle without blinking until he got uncomfortable and left the room.


	8. Chapter 8

Vadanya sat by the window and stared outside, "We have new neighbors."

Orriyon walked up to the window, "Really?"

Vadanya nodded, "It looks like there's a girl about Jace's age."

"Let's go talk to them," Orriyon suggested happily.

"Alright," Vadanya nodded. She led Orriyon outside.

The brunette met them halfway there, "Hey! We're moving in here. I guess that makes us neighbors."

Vadanya nodded, "Yeah, I guess it does."

"Great, I'm Lucy," she smiled happily.

"I'm Vadanya and this is Orriyon," Vadanya returned her smile.

Orriyon beamed at the two older girls, "We can help."

Vadanya glanced at her, "I'm not sure there's much we can help with. I mean moving usually implies moving heavy stuff."

"Oh," Orriyon sighed sadly.

"That doesn't mean you can't help," Lucy grinned, "There's plenty of small light stuff you guys can help with."

"Really?" Orriyon asked.

Lucy nodded, "Sure. C'mon."

Vadanya followed her to the pile of stuff that sat outside the house. The three girls spent the afternoon moving things.

Jordyn walked up, "Hey guys, who's this?"

"This is Lucy," Orriyon said.

"I'm Lucy!" She grinned at him, "You have purple eyes."

Jordyn nodded, "Yeah. They are purple."

She glanced around, "Who's that?"

Vadanya glanced where the brunette was pointing, "That's Jace. He's our other brother."

"Oh," Lucy smiled and waved at him.

Jace looked up and turned. A brunette waved at him.

_Hey Jace._ Her lips didn't move though he was absolutely positive he heard her voice.

Jace's eyes widened, "What?" He shook his head. _Don't do that._

_ You're doing it._

Jace rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

"Jace, are you gonna help?" Jordyn asked.

Jace glanced at him, "I'm good." He disappeared inside the house._ I'm so good. That was creepy. _He hurried up to his room, ignoring Kylle as he passed him. Jace quickly realized that he was hungry. _Crap. I didn't bother grabbing anything on my way up here._ He slid quietly down the stairs.

"If what I detected is correct then he's a telepath. And it's definitely been an active ability for a while."

Jace froze where he was.

"He's a telepath?" Kylle asked, "For how long?"

"Long enough for him to be able to control it well enough for now," the other man shrugged.

Jace cocked his head to the side. _A telepath? Are they talking about me?_

"I'd like to teach him to control his power before it gets out of hand. But only at your consent."

"Of course," Kylle nodded.

Jace peeked around the corner to see if he could get a good look at the other person. He pulled back when Kylle glanced around. _I really hope he didn't see me._ Jace swallowed nervously. He darted back up the stairs to his room.

_It's impolite to eavesdrop on a conversation that you were not invited to._

Jace cringed. _I know. I know. _He flopped onto his bed.

"You and your father have been invited to dinner," Vadanya told Lucy.

"Really?" Lucy squealed excitedly, "That's awesome. I'm sure they're really cool people."

"I guess," Vadanya shrugged. _Kylle's not that great but Mom's pretty cool._ She smiled and led the way into the living room. Jace was setting the table while Orriyon put the cards away. Jordyn leaned against the kitchen doorway and was talking with someone Vadanya couldn't see. She did however pick up an unfamiliar scent that was similar to Lucy's. "Lucy is your dad in the kitchen?" Vadanya asked.

"How'd you know?" Lucy asked happily.

"Um, well that's kind of complicated," Vadanya shrugged.

"Oh, yeah he's in the kitchen."

Orriyon walked up to Vadanya, "I feel like something big is going to happen tonight."

"Like what?" Lucy asked.

"It's probably something you already know," Orriyon shrugged.

"Really?"

"So something big for us?" Vadanya asked.

"It has something to do with Jace," Orriyon glanced at him.

Jace looked up at his name.

"Really?" Lucy asked, "Like what?"

Orriyon shrugged, "I don't know."

"How long have you had this feeling anyway?" Vadanya asked in surprise.

"A few days," Orriyon shrugged.

"That's a long time," Lucy said.

"That's weird," Vadanya muttered. _She had a weird feeling the night before I was attacked by the werewolf too. What's going to happen then? I hope it's not anything bad._

Everyone ate dinner quietly.

"That was really good," Lucy complimented.

Their mother smiled, "Thank you."

"So," her father began, "I've already discussed it with your parents but it is important that all of you know."

Orriyon leaned forward expectantly.

"I'm going to begin teaching Jace to control his telepathic abilities so they don't get out of hand," he announced.

Vadanya's eyes widened, "You're a telepath?"

Jace cocked his head to the side, "Well I guess."

Jordyn nodded, "That certainly explains a lot of things."

"Cool!" Lucy smiled, "I'm a telepath too so we'll be learning things together."

"Only once he catches up to you. Keep in mind that he is behind," her father warned.

"Yay?" Jace sounded extremely uncertain. He could feel Kylle watching him from the corner of his eye. _Oh boy. This is going to be awesome. Just broadcast everything to the world. That's alright. I don't mind. Really, I don't._ He swallowed, "I'm not hungry." He got up and walked slowly up the stairs. He ignored Kylle calling him back to the table. _I'm not entirely sure I want to do this but it'll probably make my life a lot easier so I guess it's worth doing. _"Besides they want me to so what I want doesn't even matter anyway," Jace muttered angrily.

He slammed the door shut on Kylle calling his name again. _I'm not listening._ Jace climbed onto his bed and pulled his knees up close to him. He heard the guests leave the house.

Vadanya sighed and stared at her plate. _The world doesn't revolve around you, Jace There's so much more than that. This is so much bigger than you. Of course you don't understand that. You don't know what I do. No one does. No one knows what I know. _She played with the potatoes on her plate as Kylle called him again, "Don't bother. He's already stopped listening to you."

Kylle looked at her, "He needs to eat."

"Force feeding him will only piss him off," Vadanya shrugged indifferently.

Kylle looked at her, "It's not your place to tell me what to do. I am the adult here."

Vadanya met his gaze. A defiant glint lit in her eyes, "And you don't know who you're dealing with. He's my brother. I know him. You've barely been inducted into this family."

"Danya," Jordyn warned, "it'd probably be best to let this be."

Vadanya shrugged, "Alright." She stood and left the table, "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep."

Orriyon got up and followed her quickly. She glanced uneasily at Kylle as she passed him.


	9. Chapter 9

"Jace wake up!" Jordyn called.

"I'm not asleep," Jace muttered.

"Alright, Lucy's at the door and says that her dad wants to talk to you and only you," Jordyn explained.

"Maybe later," Jace mumbled unenthusiastically. _I'm pretty positive that girl is insane._

"Actually her dad wants to talk to you now," Jordyn added.

Jace gritted his teeth, "Fine." He climbed off his bed and grabbed a book before opening the bedroom door.

Jordyn saw the book and cocked his head to the side, "A book?"

Jace nodded, "So I have an excuse."

Jordyn choked back a laugh, "If you say so."

Jace walked past him and down the stairs.

"Jace!" Lucy grinned, "You don't look very excited."

"I just woke up," Jace muttered.

Jordyn almost burst out laughing, "Go on," he gently shoved him out the door.

Jace glared at him. He reluctantly followed Lucy to her house.

"Good morning, Jace," Her father nodded to him.

Jace felt incredibly uncomfortable. He glanced around uneasily and remained silent.

"How did you sleep?"

"I slept fine," Jace muttered.

Her father looked at him. _Don't lie._

Jace glared at him. A defiant glint gleamed in his eyes. _I'm not._

Lucy swallowed, "C'mon! We got to learn all sorts of cool magic and stuff!"

Jace glanced at her, "Okay?"

"He should learn illusions. Telepaths are usually good at illusions right?" Lucy grinned excitedly.

Jace sighed quietly, "I don't really—"

"Not ever telepath is good at illusions just like how every illusionist is not a telepath," her father explained. His tone suggested he had explained this multiple times before this. "An illusion is also much more complicated than the basic enchantments I'm going to begin teaching him."

_Everybody talks about me like I don't exist. _Jace sighed. He glanced at the title of the book he was holding. _Crap. I've already read this one twice._ He studied the ground uncertainly. _I don't really know what I should do._

"There's actually a very small percentage of telepaths in this world."

Jace lifted his head, "This world?"

Lucy glanced at him, "Well yeah. There aren't any other worlds."

Jace nodded, "Right." _Why was the statement worded so weird? He said this world. Why?_

Lucy sighed, "But that just makes us special."

"That also means that people aren't going to trust you the way they do everyone else. The ability to look into people's minds makes them very uncomfortable," her father added.

"Great," Jace rolled his eyes.

"C'mon!" Lucy grinned, "There are plenty of reasons being a telepath is awesome."

"Sure," Jace opened the book. _I'm no longer a part of this conversation. I'm reading my book now. _He flipped through the pages to a random one and started reading.

"Jace," Lucy's father called his name two times before finally getting a response. He knew that Jace had decided to ignore him the first time.

Jace lifted his head, "Yeah?"

"It'd be best if you pay attention instead of ignoring the situation around you."

Jace sighed, "Okay."

"Now, I'm actually going to start by teaching you to control your telepathy."

Jace rolled his eyes, "I kind of figured that out on my own."

"You figured out how to ignore it," he corrected.

_Cause everybody thinks they're right._ Jace sighed unenthusiastically.

His eyes narrowed, "You'll also want to learn to curb that attitude of yours."

Jace bit his lip, "Sorry."

Lucy cocked her head to the side.

Jace glanced at her and shook his head.

Lucy shrugged, "What are we doing today?"

They spent the rest of the morning talking about the varied abilities any given telepath could have and what those abilities entail. Jace found himself glancing at the clock impatiently. _I want to get out of here already. This is stupid. I never thought I'd want Jordyn to pick me up so bad in my life especially when I'm just going to waste my afternoon anyway._ Jace glanced at the clock again. _Crap. It's been a minute and a half. _Jace sighed and glanced back at the other two people in the room. He stood up, "I'm thirsty." He left the room.

"Be sure to come back."

Jace rolled his eyes. _Whatever._ He wandered outside the house, "That place is stuffy. I don't think I like it." He walked around the building slowly. _Of course if I go home then Kylle's going to pitch a fit and Mom'll kill me._ Jace sighed, "Man." He glanced around. _What time is it? When is Jordyn going to come anyway?_ He walked unenthusiastically back into the house.

"What took so long?" Lucy asked.

"I walked around," Jace muttered.

"Outside?" her father asked.

Jace nodded.

"Well now that you're back we can continue."

_He looks uncomfortable._ Jace studied him carefully. _Why? _He remembered the way he had worded the comment about the world. _Why would he say this world? Wouldn't it be the world? _Jace glanced at the clock.

"Once you two progress to a certain level then I'll talk to your parents, Jace, about sending the two of you to a school just outside the city that teaches people with magical capability to productively use their magic in everyday life," Lucy's father said.

Jace sighed, "Great."

"That sounds like so much fun!" Lucy squealed excitedly.

"What level do we have to progress to?" Jace asked.

"The level where I can no longer teach you here without getting myself and the both of you into trouble."

_That was beautifully vague._ Jace sighed.

Jordyn finally came to pick him up at midday.

"Jace you'll want to really pay attention and work hard," Lucy's father said, "because you only get half of the day to learn these things."

Jace nodded. The moment the door closed behind him he rolled his eyes hard enough it hurt his head.

Jordyn laughed, "Not that fun huh?"

"No," Jace shook his head.

Jordyn sighed, "You don't find swords fun either."

Jace shrugged, "Who cares? I actually have a question for Jarvis."

"What?" Jordyn asked.

Jace shook his head.

"Conner's going to be joining us today," Jordyn said.

Jace glanced at him, "Why?"

"She's an archer," Jordyn explained.

Jace cocked his head to the side, "Really?"

Jordyn nodded, "She'll probably be willing to teach you."

Jace sighed, "Sure."

Jordyn led him outside the city.

_Just outside the city huh?_ Jace looked around. _How far does "just outside" reach?_

Jarvis and Conner waited for them. Jarvis paced between two trees.

"They'll be here any minute," Conner said.

"They're so late."

"It's two minutes," Conner corrected, "That's not that long since you spend all afternoon out here."

"Jace wants to learn archery," Jordyn announced their arrival.

Jace rolled his eyes, "Thanks for that." He walked up to Jarvis. Jace was definitely the smallest one there. He looked up at Jarvis, "What's a planeswalker?"

Jarvis laughed, "Didn't you ask that when we first met?"

Jace shrugged.

"Well, that's a really long story," Jarvis sat down against a tree.

Conner and Jordyn sat on either side of him leaving Jace to sit in front of him. The breeze died and the air became heavy.

"So first of all there's way more worlds than just this one," Jarvis started.

Jace cocked his head to the side. It was obvious that both Jordyn and Conner knew this already.

"And a planeswalker is someone who can travel between these worlds. They're usually mages but some are just brutes that can summon creatures to their aid," Jarvis shook his head, "Anyway I am a planeswalker. This world is not my home. I come from a different one. I just stopped by when I was younger and met your brother."

Jace's eyes narrowed. _I knew it. Lucy's father's wording of that statement was weird. _"Is there a map of all the worlds?" _That'd be awesome if there was. Then I'd be able to learn more about what else is out there._

"Maybe," Jarvis looked uncertain, "Well there's not a complete one because there are always worlds no one's come across."

"Man," Jace sighed. _So much for that. Well I guess any map would be good._

"Why the sudden interest?" Conner asked curiously.

Jace glanced at her, "Well Lucy's father worded a statement oddly. He was talking about how being a telepath is rare. He said it was rare in 'this world'. I just found it weird that he said this world instead of the world."

Jordyn nodded, "That is certainly an odd way to say it."

Jace glanced up at the sky.

Jarvis smiled, "I'll see if I can't get you a map of the recorded worlds." _I wonder how my sisters are doing. Last I checked one of them wasn't really getting along with Mom and Dad which could be a problem. I hope I'm wrong about her._

Jace cocked his head to the side.

Jordyn got to his feet, "Archery?"

Jace sighed, "Sure." _Great I don't want to learn any kind of weapon._

Conner grabbed her bow and her arrows.

Jordyn watched her show him how to hold a bow. He glanced at Jarvis, "Something wrong?"

Jarvis shook his head, "I'm just worried about my own siblings. One of them in particular hasn't been getting along with Mom and Dad."

Jordyn shook his head, "That's part of the reason it sucks being an older sibling but usually we worry for no real reason."

Jarvis nodded, "Yeah, usually."

"Guys!"

Jordyn looked up, "Yeah?"

"He's a natural," Conner smiled.

Jace wouldn't meet either of their gazes.

Jordyn walked up to stand next to them.

"Did he hit the target on his first try?" Jarvis asked.

Conner nodded.

"It's not the center," Jace muttered.

"It was your first try," Conner smiled. She glanced at the other two, "Besides these two are still hopeless."

"It's also with a bow that is technically too big for you," Jordyn added.

Jace shrugged, "So?"

"Swords?" Jarvis asked.

Jace sighed, "This sucks."

Jordyn handed him a wooden sword.

Jarvis watched him hold it awkwardly. He glanced at Jordyn, "He's probably just as hopeless at swords as we are at bows."

Jordyn shrugged, "Kylle will kill him if he doesn't at least learn the basics of swordplay."

Jace growled, "This is stupid."

Conner grabbed a smaller sword than the two boys, "It's not that bad. Besides we'll all be using wooden swords. They're a lot lighter than a real sword though."

Jace stared at the ground. _Can I just go home now?_

They four of them spent the rest of the afternoon sparring with wooden swords. Jace was not good at it but they did their best to encourage him. It didn't really help his attitude much.

"See you guys," Jarvis smiled and waved. He nodded to Jace, "I'll bring you a map tomorrow."

Jace nodded.


	10. Chapter 10

Jace felt oddly excited. He was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. _I'm going to have a map of the other worlds!_ He sat up and glanced out his window, "Of course tomorrow's going to last forever because I'm actually excited about something." He shook his head. _I hate the irony that is excitement. You get excited for something to come in the future and then the time leading up till that moment is terribly slow._ He cocked his head to the side, "So then if I expect it to be slow or tone down the excitement will time go by faster?" _I guess I'll get my answer tomorrow._ "If it'll get here!" he lied back down on his bed and returned to staring at the ceiling. _I could try sleeping. That makes the night time fly by really fast. _"I'm really not looking forward to tomorrow morning," Jace glanced out the window. _Where would that school be located? And why would I have to go there once I reached a certain level of power? That seems kind of dumb. _"Then again it kind of makes sense. If a mage with talent in a destructive magic were to reach a certain level then they could accidentally destroy the city," Jace shrugged. _Then again last I checked telepathy wasn't that destructive._ "Whatever," Jace closed his eyes. _I'm going to try to sleep. It's probably not going to work but who cares? _Jace managed to doze off but didn't fall asleep.

A knock on the door pulled him back into the world. Jace sighed, "What?"

"It's your mother," her tone hinted that she was not pleased with the way he had responded.

Jace swallowed, "Sorry!" He sat up and opened the door, "Yeah?"

"You have to get up and get to Lucy's," she said simply before disappearing down the stairs.

Jace sighed, "Oh yeah huh?" He grabbed a book and went downstairs. Lucy was talking to Vadanya in the living room. She noticed Jace the moment he walked into the room, "Yay! Let's go!"

Jace followed her out the door. _This is dumb._

"Today we'll go over…" Jace stopped listening.

"That again?" Lucy asked, "But I already did that."

Jace cocked his head to the side.

"We have to catch Jace up before we can move on," her father said.

Jace rolled his eyes. _Okay. That's nice. Thanks for making me the reason for her setback._

Her father glanced at him, "You need to watch your attitude."

Jace met his gaze evenly.

Lucy glanced at him in surprise, "What attitude?"

Jace looked at her, "He's mad because I'm thinking what any other person in my position would." His gaze returned to her father, "You can't control what I think. It's not like I'm actually giving you attitude."

"You have stopped listening to me every time I've tried to get you to understand something," her father said sternly, "and you're never going to get better with that kind of approach to this."

Jace sighed, "Fine." _Whatever._

Lucy looked at him in shock. _I wouldn't have dared to even think that._

Jace shrugged.

The rest of the morning was spent discussing basic illusion spells although they never actually tried it much to Jace's disappointment. When Jordyn stopped by to pick him up Jace shot out the door.

Lucy glanced at her father, "Can I go hang out with Vadanya?"

He nodded.

Lucy left.

"That boy is going to get into more trouble than he can handle if he continues to ignore me. Telepaths aren't trusted on any world," he shook his head.

"Why's Kylle here?" Jace asked.

"He just wanted to check up," Jordyn muttered.

Jace growled. _Well great. I'll just have to wait for him to leave before asking if Jarvis brought the map._

Conner was also there, "Hey guys! You're late again."

Jordyn shrugged, "Working my way through that house to pick this guy up takes a while."

"It's set up like a maze," Jace added dully.

"I thought you liked mazes?" Conner said.

Jace glanced at her, "Not when I have to work my way through it just to get out of there."

"You should be more polite," Kylle chided.

Jace glared at him, "Why? I don't like the place. I'm just being honest."

Conner's eyes widened significantly.

"You're lucky he's generous enough to teach you magic and this is how you're going to repay him?" Kylle asked.

A defiant, confident glint lit Jace's eyes, "Would you rather I become a compulsive liar? Honesty is something the city guard values, is it not? Honesty can save lives right?"

Kylle realized too late that he had backed himself into a corner. _Dammit._

Jace smirked.

Jarvis struggled to hold back laughter. _Ouch. That must have hurt. You can't argue with something you value can you?_

Conner shook her head, "Alright we're done." She got to her feet, "This conversation is over." She looked at Kylle, "If you're going to watch then watch. If you're going to comment then take your own advice and keep it polite and respectful."

Jordyn's jaw dropped. _What? She's ordering Kylle around? That's certainly new…although not entirely unexpected._

Kylle stared at her, "You're younger than me. You don't have the authority to order me around."

Conner's eyes narrowed, "And kids, such as Jace, don't need hurtful comments. You hold just as much blame for what happened last time as he does because you made unwanted comments."

Jace couldn't keep a smile from lighting up his face.

Jarvis couldn't hold his laughter in anymore. _This is great. His faces are priceless. He's completely shocked._

Kylle shut his mouth instead of saying what he wanted. _You cannot lay the blame on me. If the brat hadn't run off then nothing would have happened. How do you even know about that?_ He glanced at Jace.

Jace glared at him. _Why would you think that I told her? I keep everything to myself. Even you should know that by now._

Kylle stared at him. _How in the?_

Jace smirked, "What?"

"Jace, let's go." Conner called.

Jace glanced at her and nodded. He shot Kylle one more look before walking calmly up to her.

Jarvis shook his head, "Alright then." _I'm okay. I'm not dying. That was hilarious though._

Jordyn finished setting up the target.

Kylle watched Jace excel at archery while his sword play was much less impressive. He decided to remain silent and in the background this time. _I'm doing it because she told me to. _He left after a little while having decided he had seen enough.

Jarvis looked at Jace, "What did you do to him? He looked completely freaked out when you glared at him."

Jace shrugged, "Just a little something I picked up from Lucy."

Conner looked him over. He wasn't meeting any of their eyes, "Do tell."

Jace sighed, "When Lucy first moved in she talked to me in my head. I know it sounds weird but whatever. It was a small conversation but it happened and so I decided to do it to him."

Jarvis started laughing again, "His face was awesome."

"Jace," Jordyn warned, "You do realize that you just got yourself into a huge amount of trouble."

Jace nodded, "It was worth it though."

"I think only you would say that," Conner ruffled his hair.

"I would," Jarvis smiled. He pulled a map case out of his jacket pocket, "Here you go."

Jace grabbed it quickly and opened it. He set the map on the ground, "Wow. Each world has a number. Do they have names too?"

"Sure," Jarvis shrugged, "The people I got it from just numbered the worlds so they can record them easier."

"Does this world have a special name?" Jace asked.

Jordyn glanced at him, "Haven't seen you this excited in a while."

Jace turned away from him, "So?"

Jarvis shrugged, "If it does I don't know it."

"Oh," Jace sighed sadly. He looked up at Jarvis, "Can I keep it?"

"Sure," Jarvis shrugged.

Jace grinned.

"Time to go," Jordyn said.

"See ya guys!" Jarvis disappeared.

Conner shook her head. She smiled, "Well that was fun."

Jace glanced at his older brother, "Can I borrow your jacket?"

"Why?" Jordyn asked.

"It'd be easier to hide this in something that's too big for me," Jace explained.

Jordyn sighed, "Fine." He gave him his jacket.

Jace smirked, "It's not like you were wearing it anyway."

Jordyn shrugged, "I guess."

Conner stayed at their house for dinner before heading to her own home.

"You look happy," Vadanya noticed.

Jace shrugged, "Today wasn't that bad."

Kylle avoided looking at him let alone speaking with him.

Jace flopped onto his bed, "Maybe Kylle will leave me alone now. I doubt it. I probably just made him hate me more." _Oh well. I mean I haven't gotten in trouble yet. _Jace pulled the map case out from under his pillow. He slid off his bed and opened the map on it. _So each world has a number. It also has a name but apparently numbers are easier. _"I guess keeping track of a number would be easier," Jace shrugged. _But wouldn't a list of the names of every world be exactly the same as a list of each world's numbers? _Jace grinned suddenly, "I can get Jarvis to bring me books from other worlds!" He looked around. _Please tell me no one heard that. _He listened silently for a moment before relaxing and returning to the map. He spent the entire night studying it. Notes were written all over the map including each world's estimated population and mana concentration and distribution. _This is crazy. I don't even know which world is mine. They're just numbered. _Jace grinned excitedly, "I wonder if different worlds have different magic." _If each world had its own individual special kind of magic that would be cool. Maybe I can get Jarvis to get me books about the magic of different worlds. That'd be cool._ Jace glanced at his window, "Man, the sky's starting to get brighter." He carefully rolled up the map and stuck it back in its case. He shoved it under his pillow before climbing onto his bed. He opened his window and put his arms on the sill. _That was exciting. I wonder if Jarvis will agree. I hope so. I mean he's kind of the only way I can get access to books that aren't from this world. _"It's his fault. He's the one that perked my curiosity," Jace smiled.


	11. Chapter 11

A few months passed without anything crazy happening. Vadanya spent those weeks hanging out with Lucy and Orriyon. Conner stopped by every night, having joined the boys in the daily afternoon activities.

Vadanya quickly noticed Jace was acting weird. Lucy said he had actually started paying attention to what her father was saying. She also noticed him spending all of his free time in his room and he seemed excited about something almost every day. She was pretty positive she wasn't the only one that had noticed it. He also started stealing one of Jordyn's jackets every morning. Vadanya cocked her head to the side. _Something's definitely weird. I don't think he's ever been like this. He's never been like this._

Orriyon glanced at her, "Is something wrong?"

Vadanya shook her head, "Not technically."

Lucy stopped by after Jordyn and Jace left, "Hey!"

Vadanya smiled, "Hey. What's up?"

Lucy shrugged, "Jace is officially better than me."

"That didn't take long," Vadanya muttered.

Lucy shrugged, "I don't mind."

Vadanya glanced at her, "Your fangirl like obsession with my brother is creepy."

"He's your brother. Of course it's creepy to you," Lucy smiled.

Vadanya shrugged, "I guess. It's still creepy."

Lucy laughed.

Orriyon looked around, "Look." She pointed to the hills outside the city.

Vadanya followed and saw a small stream of smoke rising into the air, "Isn't that where they do swords and stuff?"

Orriyon nodded, "C'mon. I want to watch them."

"Okay," Vadanya shrugged.

"Hey tomorrow's your birthday right?" Lucy asked.

Vadanya nodded, "Yeah."

"What are you doing for it?" Lucy asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Vadanya shrugged, "Birthdays aren't really a big thing in our family."

"Oh," Lucy shrugged. She sighed, "Lucky, on my birthday my entire family comes to visit and it gets really crazy really fast."

Vadanya glanced at her, "That sounds kind of awful."

"I don't really mind it," Lucy smiled, "It's just I'd be reluctant to invite you guys over because you seem to get really overwhelmed from dealing with a lot of people."

Vadanya nodded, "You wouldn't be wrong about that."

They walked up to where Jordyn, Conner, Jace and another man none of them recognized were all gathered. Vadanya's eyes widened, "I recognize that scent." She stared at the pink haired man. _Where though? Where have I met him before?_

"Hey guys," Conner smiled, "What's up?"

"Orriyon wanted to watch you guys," Vadanya shrugged, "and we accompanied her."

The pink haired man glanced at Jordyn, "Does everyone in your family use seriously advanced vocabulary for their age?"

Jordyn nodded, "Kind of." He turned back to the three girls, "This is Jarvis."

"Hi," Lucy smiled.

Jarvis returned it. "I remember you," Jarvis pointed to Vadanya.

Vadanya nodded, "Good for you."

Jarvis laughed, "You guys all seem to have your own versions of sarcasm."

Orriyon cocked her head to the side. She glanced at Vadanya, "Can you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Vadanya asked.

"Listen," Orriyon said.

Vadanya's pupils slowly shifted from round human pupils to sharply slitted pupils.

Lucy stared at her in shock, "Since when?"

Vadanya ignored her.

"The calling of the birds," Orriyon whispered.

Vadanya nodded, "Yeah I hear it. Is this why you wanted to come here?"

Orriyon nodded, "We should go back. Something bad is going to happen."

"Like what?" Lucy asked.

"Don't know," Vadanya shrugged, "but she's never been wrong before."

Lucy cocked her head to the side, "How?"

"We don't know," Jordyn shrugged. "Let's go," he led the way back into the city. Jarvis followed them.

Vadanya glanced over her shoulder just as a large dragon landed in the place they had been. It looked around. The city guard quickly rallied against it. Orriyon watched them drive it away. The great reptile flew off into the distance to terrorize another town.

"That's the first time I've seen a dragon," Lucy squealed excitedly, "It probably would have been a lot cooler if we had been closer!"

"Yeah," Jace nodded, "We'd also be very dead."

Lucy sighed sadly, "Yeah. Too bad dragons are so dangerous."

Orriyon smiled, "I wanna play cards now."

Vadanya sighed, "Some things never change I guess."

She led the way back to the house. Their mother was cleaning the kitchen. _Again Mom? You just cleaned it this morning._ She shook her head, "We're playing cards, Mom."

"Take them up to your room then."

Vadanya nodded. She grabbed a box of cards and hurried up the stairs to the room.

"Your house is really nice," Lucy looked around.

"You haven't ever gone beyond the living room have you?" Vadanya asked.

Lucy shook her head, "Nope. That was when your brother was lazy and didn't want to do anything."

"He's still lazy and doesn't want to do anything," Vadanya muttered.

Orriyon poked her, "He's not that lazy. At least he helps clean the living room now."

Vadanya nodded, "Yeah, there is that."

Lucy played cards with them until just before dinner. She had to be home by dinner every day.

Jace, Jordyn and Conner came back in the middle of dinner.

Vadanya noticed Kylle give Jace an odd look. _I don't really think he likes Jace at all. _She shrugged.

Orriyon went up to the room the girls shared right after dinner. Vadanya followed her, "What's up?"

"I just have a bad feeling," Orriyon shrugged.

"About what?" Vadanya asked.

Orriyon shrugged, "I don't know yet." She clenched her fists and started to cry, "And it scares me."

Vadanya hugged her. _I have no idea what to say. I'll just hug her until she stops crying._

Orriyon finally stopped crying, "I'm tired."

"Then go to bed," Vadanya rolled her eyes.

"But I don't want to," Orriyon said.

Vadanya sighed, "Then don't." She wandered over to the window. Orriyon ended up falling asleep relatively quickly but Vadanya couldn't sleep. _She doesn't know what it is. That could be really bad but I'm going to let her worry about it._ She saw something move in the shadows by the edge of the house. Her pupils shifted allowing her to see perfectly. Her eyes widened, "Jace?" _What is he doing? Well other than something incredibly stupid because if it wasn't stupid he wouldn't be sneaking around at night to do it._ She slid silently out of her room and down the stairs. Kylle was sitting on the couch sharpening his sword by candlelight. _Oh jeez._ Vadanya slid into the kitchen. She could feel the breeze of the open living room window. She changed fully into a wolf and slid through the window silently. _I have actually never changed into a wolf before. Even though I'm supposedly a werewolf I can control when I change. Aren't werewolves supposed to not be able to? Oh well. I don't care. Whatever. _She followed Jace silently. He left the city, expertly avoiding the city guard patrols that circled the city. _So he's been doing this for a while. I mean in order to completely avoid an entire patrol without the assistance of magic would require that he have that knowledge. _She followed him out to the cliffs that were nearby. _What is he doing? And how does he not know that I'm here? Or does he just not care?_

Jace stopped.

Vadanya crouched down a little bit away. She quickly noticed he was holding an unfamiliar book in his hand. He sat down and spent the entire night reading it. _That was pointless. _She quickly slid out of his view when he got up and started heading back. _That book though. I've never seen it before. _Her eyes narrowed, "What are you doing?" She hurried back home. The living room window was still open. She followed Jace's scent around the house and looked up in time to see him slid back into his room through the window. She cocked her head to the side. _What are you doing?_ She slid back to the living room window. Kylle was no longer in the living room. She slid into it and changed back into her human form as she skipped up the stairs.

Orriyon was still asleep when she returned to her room. She sat on her bed and glanced at the window. _What was he doing? Okay he was obviously reading a book but why would he sneak out just to read a book? It doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't he just stay in his room? _Vadanya sighed, "There's something I'm missing and I don't know what it is."


	12. Chapter 12

Jace sighed. _Man, I couldn't practice anything cause Vadanya followed me. I should probably be more careful from now on so she won't notice me._ He glanced at the book leaning against the bookshelf where no one standing in the doorway could see it. _Oh well. It's not like I don't have time. I mean we have to hit a certain power level before being sent to that weird school place Lucy's dad keeps going on about. I'm also going to assume that he won't send us separately so it'll be once we're either at or above said power level._ Jace glanced out the window, "I have a few hours still." _Until Lucy will be pounding on the front door wanting me to get up and go to her house. Yay, oh well. I have to put up with it so I will._ He sat up, "I wonder how complicated the stuff he says is complicated really is. I would try testing it but he said that we could explode in an overload of mana." _I don't understand how you could explode from an overload of mana if you're trying something that's beyond your skill level. Wouldn't the problem be a lack of mana?_ Jace cocked his head to the side, "Then maybe it's not as complicated as he makes it out to be. If it isn't then I could probably try it." _Besides I'm not stupid. If I can't do something I can tell. That's why I've never really ever lifted a sword. I can't do it so I'll just get good at bow and arrow. It's not like Mom specified what kind of weapons she wanted me to learn._ Jace shrugged indifferently.

It took another two years for them to be sent to the school. In that time Jace looked into magic on his own and convinced his older brother to teach him the magic he knew. He also convinced Jarvis to bring him books about magic from other worlds. Lucy began to get really clingy. She followed him pretty much anywhere he went. He pretended like it didn't bother him.

"Jace!" Lucy called excitedly.

Jace sighed and sat up, "What?"

"Tomorrow's school! It's orientation day tomorrow," Lucy smiled.

Jace lied back down and returned to staring at the school, "That's nice."

"Isn't it exciting? The school's positioned outside the city," Lucy sat down next to him and pulled a map out of her jacket pocket, "It's on the west side just outside the perimeter the city guard patrols."

Jace nodded, "I see you've been looking into it."

"Yeah," Lucy nodded, "I wanted to find out as much as possible about the school before going."

"The easiest and most detailed way to do that would be to go visit the building itself," Jace muttered.

"But I'd get in trouble if I did," Lucy shook her head, "and according to rumor all of the teachers of the school have at least some ability to use nullification magic."

Jace glanced at her, "Really? That's interesting. I doubt they'd be able to teach any of the students though."

"Probably not," Lucy nodded, "Don't you practice swordplay in the afternoons?"

"Kylle wanted Jordyn to go with him on some city guard patrol or other," Jace shrugged, "and Jarvis had to deal with something about his sister."

"Why do you call him Kylle if he's your dad?" Lucy asked.

"Cause he's not my dad," Jace muttered.

"He's not?" Lucy asked in surprise, "I always thought he was."

"My mom isn't even married to him yet. He's just some guy that happens to live in the same house," Jace got to his feet.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you," Lucy said quickly.

"It wasn't you," Jace sighed, "I just got tired of staring at the sky."

"Oh," Lucy smiled, "Vadanya and Orriyon are going out to the cliff today."

"Good for them," Jace shrugged.

"Why don't you ever spend time with them?" Lucy asked.

"I don't have to," Jace sighed. _You're getting kind of annoying. What happened to spending more time with my sisters than with me?_ He started walking along through the tall green grass. It was the middle of summer and a gentle breeze blew his hair out of his face.

"I wonder if there will be any other telepaths in the school," Lucy followed him.

Jace shrugged, "I wouldn't know. However I doubt it. Wasn't it your dad that said telepaths were rare?"

"Well yeah but there could be one," Lucy shrugged, "I think that would be cool."

Jace nodded, "I guess." _Of course you'd find it cool to meet another telepath. I honestly wouldn't trust them in the least. At least I wouldn't trust them for a very long time. School would probably be over by the time I learned to trust another telepath especially if they were more powerful than me._ He shook his head, "I still doubt we're actually going to meet one."

"Are you planning on going to the school?" Lucy asked.

"No," Jace shook his head.

"You're heading to the west side of the city," she pointed out.

He glanced at her, "I have a tendency to circle."

"You walk all the way around the city?" she asked.

Jace rolled his eyes, "No. I walk in a general circle until I decide it's time to go back. I always go east so I decided to go west today before you told me the school was on the west side."

"Oh," Lucy nodded, "That makes sense. It would be nice to get a general idea of where the school is though."

Jace sighed. _Yeah. I'm going to get a closer look around tonight. Might as well do something productive since I don't sleep anyway._ He wandered around the city. When he reached the general area of the school he could barely see the top of the concrete wall that surrounded the campus. That was all he could see. He glanced at Lucy, "That's a little far for being just outside the city."

She shrugged, "It looks closer on the map."

Jace sighed, "Oh well." He continued to walk in the general direction he was going.

"When do you go home anyway?" Lucy asked, "My dad is going to come looking for me soon."

"I go home when I want," Jace said, "but if you're going to get in trouble then you should go home."

Lucy nodded, "Yeah probably. See you tomorrow!" she hurried away.

Jace watched her unenthusiastically, "Yeah at school. Fun." _I wonder if they'll expand on what we've already learned any. For some reason I really doubt it._ He continued to walk until the sun touched the western horizon.

"You're home late," Jordyn commented.

Jace shrugged, "So?"

"I'm beginning to think you should have a time to be home by," Kylle said, "that way your mother doesn't worry."

"Sure," Jace rolled his eyes, "go ahead and give me a time to be home by. It's not like I carry a watch with me wherever I go." He went into the kitchen and grabbed an apple before heading up to his room.

"That can't possibly be all you're eating," Kylle snapped.

"And if it is?" Jace asked over his shoulder as he continued up the stairs. He closed his door and ignored Kylle's response. He flopped onto his bed and ate the apple. _Once everyone is asleep I'll put one of the spells in the book Jarvis gave me to practice. _Jace smiled excitedly, "I wonder how fast I'd be able to go." _Of course I wouldn't want to go too fast and I'll want to look over the spell again before I cast it but that's alright._ He kneeled in front of his bookshelf. He could barely see the book behind two dangerously off balance stacks of other books. He carefully reached behind the stacks and expertly pulled the book out of the crack between the stacks. _Perfect. Now we'll just look it over. I might cast a sleep spell after everyone's in bed. Of course then Jordyn at the very least would know. I don't know if Kylle would be able to detect the spell. If so I'll be so dead tomorrow. Yeah on second thought we'll just wait for them to go to sleep normally. _Jace nodded. He flipped to the bookmarked page of the book, "A spell that augments a target's speed allowing them to move at otherwise physically impossible speeds." He smiled. _That'd be the easiest way to get to the school and still have time to look around. Well besides teleportation and I'm not so sure about that spell. It looks complicated. _"So now we wait." Jace moved his pillow and put the book under it open to that page. _I am kind of curious as to what people will be there. That would be interesting. I wonder how long it'll take Jarvis to deal with whatever's up with his sister._ Jace sighed, "Oh well."


	13. Chapter 13

Jace slid out his window and dropped onto the ground below. He had read over the spell three times before leaving his room to make sure he had it memorized. Lucy's father had tried to get him to speak the words when casting a spell but Jace wasn't going to bother speaking it if thinking the words was just as effective. He quickly cast the spell and darted through the city. Getting to the school was easy. It was empty right now. The first day for all the students was tomorrow. It started off with a tour. The new students were introduced to the teachers while the older students were reminded of the rules and expectations the school had of them. He circled the gate. The only way in was a single entrance. Jace cast a simple but powerful detection spell his brother had taught him. The gate was steel and magically sealed while the walls were protected concrete. He could feel the magic that laced the walls. A protective defensive shell kept magic within the bounds of the walls and kept magic out. Further study of the wall revealed a second hidden spell that set off an alarm should the walls be climbed without permission from a teacher. Magically forced permission would still trigger the alarm. The alarm would also be set off should a student disable the seal on the gate. He smiled, "Okay." He turned and darted back through the city. The speed spell wore off before he got home but he walked the rest of the way. He scaled his house with practiced ease and slid back into his room through his cracked window. _Now we wait till tomorrow to get a closer look at everything. _He closed his eyes and dozed.

"Jace! C'mon!" Lucy called.

Jace sighed, "I'm coming. Hold on a sec." he hid the book behind the stack in his bookshelf before walking as slowly as he could down the stairs. He walked with Lucy to the school. She chattered on and on but Jace didn't exactly pay attention.

"We're here!" Lucy grinned.

Jace looked around at the other students of the school. He could sense the relative power level of their magic and they were all pretty weak. Lucy bounced up and down excitedly next to him. The teachers of the school were dividing the students based off the magic that they practice. _I think that's dumb. I don't understand why they have to tell the other students the exact power of everyone else. Oh well, it's not like I have a choice in this anyway so I might as well get everything I can out of it._

"Fire magic," a teacher called, "If you practice fire magic step forward."

About a third of the incoming students walked up to the teacher.

"Oh wow. This is the most fire mages we've had in a while," the teacher was a fire mage as well.

"Ice," Jace could tell the teacher was an ice mage. He glanced at Lucy, "This is gonne get awkward really fast."

"It doesn't seem like there's anyone else," Lucy said dejectedly.

Jace glanced at her. _Yeah. I'm honestly not complaining._

_ What kind of magic do those two practice?_

_I don't know but they definitely know each other._

_It's not something super powerful and deadly is it?_

Jace rolled his eyes. _Like it would be._ He cocked his head to the side. _Is telepathy powerful and deadly? I know it's not trusted but is it really deadly?_

"Telepathy or illusions."

Jace exchanged glances with Lucy, "You can go first."

"Okay," Lucy swallowed nervously. They were joined by an illusionist.

Jace could feel everyone's stares on his back. _This sucks. Why'd they have to divide us up based on the kind of magic we practice? That's not fair._ The teacher that called them looked entirely emotionless. She looked like a statue. Her cold blue eyes were dull and blank and yet the rest of her face looked angry. _She looks harsh._ Jace stood next to Lucy uncomfortably.

_I heard that. Keep a check on yourself. Emotion and telepathy make for a disastrous combination._

Jace glanced at her. _Why would that be disastrous?_

_It will be explained in time._

Jace sighed in annoyance. _Awesome._

"Now all of you are going to enter the school building," the protection mage of the teachers said sternly, "and I don't want any discrimination based on magical ability and talent." He fixed the telepaths and fire mages with hard looks.

Jace studied the ground. _Because we have the smallest number of course everyone would assume we have a superiority complex. Fire mages are notorious for their attitudes and mood swings meaning they're likely to lash out as well._

_Watch your emotions._

Jace glanced at her. _I know that! You're only a walking exhibit of it._

She froze him in place with a hard almost hateful look, "I said watch it." Her voice was steady and completely flat. There wasn't a trace of emotion.

Jace met her gaze. A defiant glint lit his eyes.

Lucy bit her lower lip nervously. The illusionist had obviously been here a couple of years and was looking at Jace like he'd lost his mind. _Dude just keep quiet and do as she says. You really don't want to make an enemy out of her._

Jace broke eye contact, "Of course." He studied the ground and forced his mind to go blank. She led them into the school. Lucy looked him over nervously, "Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine," Jace whispered.

"Okay," Lucy didn't sound as though she believed him but Jace didn't care. They entered to dormitory building that was just for them.

"Though the dormitory was built to fit many more students it is more of a precautionary measure in case we get more students in this field of magic than usual. That does not mean that you can run around like hooligans and make a mess of the place," the teacher explained. This one was still smaller than any of the others but too big for just three kids. "Also one of you won't be living in the dorms. Therefore you will not be supplied with a key or a room," she didn't look at any of them. _You know who you are._

Jace rolled his eyes. _Yeah, yeah._

_Your emotions._

Jace gritted his teeth. _You can't expect me to be a freaking robot right off the bat!_

_Your emotions._

Jace took a deep steadying breath and tuned her out for the rest of the tour of the school. Instead he created a map of it in his mind. If the teacher was aware of this she gave no sign of it. When they went back to the dorms Jace wasn't given a key or a room.

"You aren't gonna live in the dorms?" the illusionist asked.

Jace shook his head, "I'm only gonna be here for half the day anyway."

"Why?"

"Because that's the way my parents wanted it," Jace shrugged.

"You don't know?"

"No," Jace rolled his eyes.

"But aren't you a telepath?" the illusionist asked.

"That doesn't mean I'm going to look into someone's head for an answer to something as pointless as that," Jace explained.

"What's your name?" Lucy asked.

"Erin," he smiled.

"I'm Lucy and this is Jace," Lucy smiled.

Jace sighed. _I wanna go home now. I'm already tired of this place and I haven't even been here for half a day. I can't wait for Jordyn to come pick me up._

"Jace," the teacher said flatly.

Jace looked up at her, "Yeah?"

"Come with me," she led him to another room.

Jace followed her reluctantly.

"You aren't going to advance as quickly as the other students since you're only here half the day," her tone didn't change.

Jace's eyes narrowed, "I think you'll be surprised. You aren't the first person to tell me that."

She remained unfazed, "You're going to have to learn to control your emotions."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Again?"

_He is the first telepath to come to us like this. Not even the girl who had the same teacher as him is this defiant and unstable emotionally._ She shook her head, "If you want to continue to learn then you'll have to control your emotions or this school will not be able to teach you."_ You'll be labeled a rogue and be hunted down and most likely killed._

Jace sighed, "Fine, whatever." He left the room without being told to.

"Where're you going?" Lucy asked curiously.

"The library," Jace snapped.

Lucy stopped, "Oh."

Jace sighed, "That wasn't exactly meant to be directed at you. I'm just annoyed with someone else and it ended up sounding meaner than I meant it to."

Lucy brightened instantly, "Okay! Mind if I come along."

"No," Jace turned back to the dorm door.

"Do you need me to show you the way?" the Erin asked.

Jace shook his head, "If you're passive aggressively asking you can come along I don't care."

"Classes start tomorrow," the teacher said, "so be ready for them by then."

"Yeah," Jace led the way into the school.

Erin was shocked that he had already memorized the layout of the school building even though he hadn't appeared to be paying attention to anything the teacher was saying.

Jace walked into the library. It took up at least a third if not half of this particular building on the campus. He walked over to a gate he noticed in the very back. Magical letters wrote themselves in the air in front of it as he approached. _Students are not allowed past this gate?_ He glanced at the librarian, "Why not?"

"Because it's our job to keep the students safe and the magic in there is powerful enough that none of you would be able to control it even if you could cast a spell," he explained.

Jace glanced at the gate, "I'm going to assume there's a protective spell on it and that another spell will set off an alarm should a student get past the gate."

"What clued you into that?" the librarian asked.

"It's logical. There are all sorts of mages so the fastest and easiest way to dissuade students from entering is to put up a protective spell and have an alarm that will let all the teachers know where that student is," Jace shrugged, "Nothing scares someone that's breaking the rules like an onslaught of authority figures."

The librarian nodded. _There's more to it than that but I doubt the kid's gonna let on to that. There's something more to this one than the others. Another thing is I've never seen a telepath with this range of ability or emotions. Usually they are conditioned into a robotic lack of feeling._ "Interesting."

Jace shrugged and walked away from the gate and back into the library.

"How'd you know that?" Erin asked, "I've been here years and I didn't know that."

"I could feel it." _There's no better way to control a group of kid mages that think they're roaming free. This place is more of a conditioning camp than anything else._ His eyes narrowed, "I'm still going to get what I can and then get out."

"What?" Lucy glanced at him.

Jace shook his head, "Nothing. I was just thinking."

_That's why he still feels emotion._ The librarian nodded. _He gathers what he sees as necessary and tunes out the rest. That emotion may very well make him the most powerful mage this world has seen in a long time._ The librarian smiled.


	14. Chapter 14

Jace sighed. He glanced at the clock. _C'mon please! Go faster. _He had two more hours before Jordyn would come to pick him up. _I hope Jarvis is there. I also hope his sister's okay. That'd kind of suck if something happened when he wasn't there._ He glanced at the clock again. _Dammit._

"Jace, are you paying attention?"

"Yeah," Jace muttered.

"Doesn't look like it," the teacher stood above his desk and looked down at him sternly.

Jace met his gaze defiantly, "My apologies for being bored."

Erin stared at him. _This kid is crazy! He isn't really talking back to the law magic teacher is he?_

The teacher's eyes narrowed slightly, "I'd like to see you after this orientation."

"I'm actually being picked up in two hours," Jace reminded him.

"Then I'll see you in my office right now," the teacher said.

Jace sighed and followed him into the office.

"If you want to be a successful student in this school then this orientation is the most important day of the year," the teacher whispered.

Jace shrugged, "I don't aim to please anyone. I'll be successful by my standards. Not yours." He didn't meet the teacher's eyes.

The teacher shook his head, "Our job is to help the students including you be successful mages in this world. That is our job. In order to be able to live in this world you're going to have to pay attention."

Jace nodded, "Sure."

"You've tuned me out haven't you?" the teacher asked angrily.

"No," Jace lied.

"Don't lie. All it's going to do is get you in more trouble than you can handle," the teacher said calmly.

Jace glanced at him, "How many emotions do you feel? Anger, obviously but that's all I've seen. How is it? Being a robot?"

"That's enough," the teacher hissed, "Go back to your seat and pay attention for the next two hours."

Jace studied the ground, "Alright." _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Why'd I have to go running my mouth again? _He returned obediently to his seat. _I'm going to make an enemy of every single teacher in this building. And what's with all of them going on about this world? They're always calling it this world. How many of them know about planeswalkers? _

"Jace," the teacher said.

"Yes?" Jace asked in exasperation.

"Didn't I tell you to pay attention?"

"Yeah," Jace kept his voice dull.

"Then pay attention."

"Okay," Jace stared at the wall that the teacher was pacing in front of. _This is boring. I would be paying attention if you didn't drone on and on and on about nothing other than how important your version of order is. I'm not even going to be in your class so I don't understand why I have to sit through this. Oh never mind. The three of us have to sit through every class's orientation because we're special and our teacher's too lazy to give us an orientation herself. It's the same stuff over and over again anyway. I mean I've heard this three times already. This guy's the history teacher too though and history is required. I mean it's not like I haven't already memorized almost every single event that's happened in the world's past. All I've spent my life doing is reading books that have already told me what you're going to spend all year droning about._

"Jace," the teacher said again.

"Yes?" Jace asked flatly.

"If you tune me out for a third time I'm going to kick you out of the classroom."

"Okay," Jace muttered. He could feel the entire class staring at him. The students were aspiring law mages or already law mages that were just planning on expanding their knowledge and magical abilities. _I'm not a law mage and I don't plan on ever being a law mage. However since this guy is also a master at protective magic it might be a good idea to eavesdrop on that bit. That shouldn't be too hard. I mean no one here has any walls in their head. Wait a second…no one has any walls in their heads. That's not FAIR! Why are we taught to control our own telepathy but not taught to defend against anyone else's? I'll figure out how to do it myself. It's probably going to be a tedious trial and error process but I don't care. I'll get it eventually. It might be in the book Jarvis gave me. However I doubt it. It's a book full of spells. I'm pretty positive having walls in your head isn't a spell. It's more like a skill. _

"Jace," the teacher startled him out of his thoughts.

Jace swallowed, "I'm getting kicked out aren't I?"

The teacher nodded, "At least you paid attention to what your punishment was. When you are in my history class in the future I expect you to pay attention in it and your punishment will be more severe should you not pay attention."

Jace nodded, "Okay." He stood up and walked out of the classroom. _Jeez that room was suffocating. I'll just go to the library then. I mean it's not like I have anything better to do. I'll try to figure out if there's a way for me to get past the gate._

"Well hello again," the librarian said cheerfully. He cocked his head to the side, "Shouldn't you be in an orientation?"

"I got kicked out because I kept zoning out," Jace shrugged. He ran his hand along one of the shelves of a nearby bookshelf.

"Why'd you zone out?"

"He was going on and on and on and on about something I didn't find important," Jace grabbed a book off the shelf.

"What was it?"

"His version of order and how important it was to have order and law in the world."

"Oh, the law mages orientation," the librarian nodded, "That makes sense." _That's odd. The telepaths we've had in the past have found that orientation interesting._

Jace opened the book and read it quickly.

"Jace what are you doing in the library? You're supposed to be in an orientation," the lightning mage and biological science teacher asked as she entered the library.

"I got kicked out," Jace shrugged.

Her eyes widened, "You got…kicked out?"

Jace nodded. He glanced at the clock and his face lit up, "Is my brother here?"

She nodded.

Jace darted out of the room and down the hallway.

"Jace! The book!" The librarian sighed, "I'll remind him to return it tomorrow."

"His speed was magically enhanced," she noted, "I thought telepath's couldn't learn ability and sense augmentation."

"Apparently he can," the librarian shrugged, "and he didn't say anything or make any motion to cast it leading me to assume he's already mastered the spell."

"That's certainly interesting. He's also the first telepath that has gotten kicked out of an orientation."

"He wasn't paying attention because he found it boring," the librarian explained.

"Boring?" she cocked her head to the side, "But I thought all telepaths had an innate curiosity and would pay attention to anything."

"Apparently not him," the librarian shrugged, "he's also mastered a detection enchantment. He cast it on himself a few days ago allowing him to sense any spells within a certain radius around him. I don't know how far that radius goes since I don't know how well he knows the spell."

"We've never had a telepath with as wide a range as him," the lightning mage shook her head, "That's crazy."

"It is," the librarian agreed, "We've also never had a telepath that was nearly as emotional as him. His ability to get what he needs and tune out the rest is incredible and might lead to him going rogue."

"It might," she nodded, "It would be the first telepath to go rogue in many decades."

"It's because the law has dictated that telepaths must be disconnected from their emotions," the librarian shrugged, "and disobeying that law is a death sentence. He's going to get himself into a light of trouble or he'll have to be extremely careful from here on out."


	15. Chapter 15

"I never thought I'd actually look forward to this," Jace lied down on his stomach in the grass.

"Is school that bad?" Conner asked.

"It's so boring," Jace whined, "All they do is drone on and on in the same voice no matter what they're talking about. Unless of course I manage to piss them off," Jace added. _I still hate learning weapons but at least this is more entertaining than sitting through a class listening to a monotone teacher talk about nothing. _

Jarvis walked up to them, "Sorry I'm late guys."

Jace sat up, "You're back."

Jarvis handed him a book then sat down against his favorite tree.

"Everything okay?" Jordyn asked.

Jarvis nodded, "Yep. My sister's fine."

Jace cocked his head to the side, "Really?"

Jarvis nodded, "Yep." _I may not know where she is right now but she's fine._

Jace nodded, "Okay." _I wonder what happened. _

"Well then," Conner smiled deviously, "Jace you aren't allowed to just sit there."

"What?" Jace asked.

"On your feet," Conner got to her feet.

Jace pouted, "No. I just got a new book!"

"And you can read it tonight," Conner shrugged.

Jace stuck out his tongue, "C'mon."

"Hey guys," Vadanya and Orriyon walked up.

"What's up?" Jordyn asked.

"Kylle just wanted us to get out of the house so Mom could clean," Vadanya shrugged.

"Again?" Jace asked.

Vadanya nodded.

"We decided to come watch," Orriyon smiled happily.

Jace sighed. _At least she's happy. Of course that's probably because she's chosen to overlook everything in order to stay happen but that's alright I guess._

"What's with the book?" Vadanya asked accusingly.

Jace hid the book behind his back, "It's Jarvis' book. I was just looking at it." He gave it back to Jarvis.

Jarvis laughed and shook his head, "I'm amazed you'd feel guilty for looking at a book."

Vadanya's eyes narrowed, "Okay."

Jace gritted his teeth. _Oops. I'm just screwing up everything today. Why?_

Orriyon sat on the ground, "I don't see what's wrong with looking at a book."

Vadanya sat next to her, "I guess. Yeah." She watched Jace carefully. _Maybe not but that wasn't a book I'd seen or even heard of before. Maybe it's from another part of the world but even so I don't understand how Jarvis would've gotten his hands on it without travelling really far. _Her eyes narrowed further as she studied Jarvis. _There's something about him that's weird. He's a mage. I can sense that much but he's different than any other mage I've met including Jace. More like…_She remembered the mists that had surrounded her when she had been attacked by the werewolf. The sudden awareness she had felt in that moment came to her mind. Her eyes narrowed, "I know where that book is from."

Jace glanced at her in surprise, "You do?" _Oh no. No. No. No. No. Please no. I'm going to be in so much trouble._

Jarvis met her gaze, "Well that didn't take you long to figure out."

Orriyon looked at Vadanya, "What's so important about the book?"

Vadanya smirked, "It's from another world. Meaning if Jace was looking at it he's fully aware of the fact that there are other worlds out there."

Jace bit his lower lip, "Well, maybe."

"Exactly," Vadanya nodded.

Orriyon looked around, "There are other worlds out there?"

Vadanya nodded, "I became aware of that when I was attacked by the werewolf. I wouldn't be able to explain it to you because it's complicated."

Orriyon nodded.

"That didn't take you long at all," Jarvis smiled. He glanced at Jordyn, "Apparently amazing deduction skills run in the family."

Jordyn shrugged, "Apparently."

Conner nodded, "That's all fine and good but the afternoon is bleeding away."

Jace sighed sadly. _Dammit. I was hoping she'd just let the conversation continue._

"Right," Jarvis nodded.

Vadanya watched them for a little while. _So if he's perfectly aware of other worlds then why does he continue to insist that everyone hates him and everything is his responsibility and his fault?_

That night Jace slipped out of the house carefully. _Please don't follow me Vadanya. Please don't follow me._ He darted out of the city and set the book down on the ground. _I wanna try something hard today. I've already mastered the ones I've been practicing._ He flipped to the back of the book where the advanced spells were. _Whoa! Wings? _"The caster creates wings of concentrated mana that allow them to glide for the set duration of the spell," Jace's eyes widened, "That's awesome!" _I'm going to try it!_ The spell turned out to be a lot harder than he had expected. He managed to get the wings to solidify but couldn't keep them in place. The moment his concentration broke the wings shattered. Jace fell to one knee. _Okay, maybe I went a little too hard. Oh well. I'll get it if I keep practicing._ "That was more exhausting than anything I've tried before," Jace got unsteadily to his feet. _One more time? _He tried but was too tired to be able to concentrate. _Never mind._

Vadanya watched Jace climb back up to his room. _Well it looks like I was right. Oh well. It's not like it really matters to me. He can spend his nights doing whatever he wants to. However to be able to get past the city guard so easily requires knowledge of their shifts and the different patrols that they do. _Her eyes narrowed, "So he's been doing this for a while. I'm going to assume that this is how he got better than Lucy so quickly." _And he's always perfectly willing to tune out everything that he doesn't see as necessary or important. That much I know from watching his interactions with Kylle. _

Jace opened his eyes to someone walking up the stairs. He quickly noticed that the book was just lying on the floor in the middle of his room. His eyes widened. He quickly got off his bed and stuffed the book into the backpack sitting by the door. _Don't know where this came from but whatever. It's convenient. _

Vadanya stood in her doorway when he opened the door, "Your welcome."

Jace blinked at her in surprise and then glanced at the backpack, "Thanks." He shot down the stairs, pushing past his mother on the way down.

"Jace be careful. I know you're running late but that's no reason to go pushing people aside."

Jace ignored her and darted out the door. _If I really cared about being late then I'd be freaking out right now. _He slowed to a walk. _I could just skip out on school. Then again school is where Jordyn would expect me to be. _Jace shook his head, "I'm not stupid. I might be crazy but I'm not stupid." He made his way to the school.

"Hurry it up," Kylle snapped as his patrol ran into Jace, "You're going to be late."

Jace glared at him. He continued walking at the same pace. He made it to school just as the students were walking out of their dorms and into the courtyard.

"What's with the backpack?" Lucy asked.

Jace glanced at her, "My mom insisted on it." _It sucked. _

"Oh," Lucy laughed.

Erin shook his head, "Why don't you live in student housing?"

"Because I spend my afternoons learning other things on my parents' insistence," Jace answered vaguely. _God I'm still so tired. That was really exhausting._

The students gathered in the courtyard. The older ones waited expectantly and patiently. Jace found that he couldn't see what was going on. He slid away from Lucy and Erin and through the crowd. _It's so crowded. It's annoying. _He sat on the ground close to the front row and watched what was going on. All the teachers were gathered in the center of the crowd of students.

"You are not allowed to use magic outside of this courtyard. We will spend the beginning of everyday going over magic and then you will go to class," the lightning magic teacher smiled, "Have fun."

"Meet your teachers where they are standing."

Jace slid out of the crowd and stood by the teacher he had. _Great. Here we go._

"Your first task will be to create an illusion of a creature," the teacher said once Lucy and Erin reached her, "What creature you create is your choice. Just keep in mind that the creature you choose dictates how much mana you will need to use."

Lucy waved her hand high over her head. A mermaid appeared, "Tada!" She smiled happily.

Jace turned to Erin waiting for him to go.

Erin shrugged, "Alright."

_Being an illusionist he should be able to create an illusion that is relatively powerful._

Erin put his hands together and held them parallel to the ground. A sphinx appeared in front of him. It nodded to him respectfully leading Jace to believe that he had created it multiple times before.

"Well?" the teacher asked, "The other two have gone. It's your turn."

Jace met her gaze evenly. He remained perfectly still. A slight breeze formed around him and a dragon solidified around him. It growled protectively.

Lucy's jaw dropped, "A dragon?" The mermaid dissipated with her broken concentration. She watched it fade into wisps of mist sadly, "Sorry I didn't mean to make you disappear."

Erin and his sphinx both looked shocked.

The teacher's eyes widened slightly, "How have you already mastered an illusion that powerful.

Jace blinked, "Is that somehow wrong?"

"Unexpected," the teacher's eyes narrowed.

Jace could every single student's gaze on him. _Oh great. Maybe I should've created something smaller. Oh well. It's done now. _He felt the teacher picking through his mind. His eyes flashed angrily, "Stay out of my head." He glared at her.

The teacher had walls that he couldn't hope to get past. His eyes narrowed. She nodded, "Very well." _His mind went blank the moment he realized I was there. How did he know? There's no way he could have at the power level he should be at._ Her eyes narrowed.

"Well, you're all going to class now," the fire mage said, "See you tomorrow."

Jace sighed.

"How did you do that?" Erin asked in shock. His sphinx dissipated with a nod.

The dragon disappeared as well. Jace shrugged, "It's just an illusion. It's not like I can create an actual dragon out of thin air."

"Even so," Erin shook his head, "a dragon is one of the most complicated illusions I know. It requires a lot more mana than even a sphinx."

Jace glanced at him, "Oh."

"You think you're so special don't you telepath?" a fire mage that was easily twice Jace's size stopped them, "Just cause you can shock the teachers with your ability."

"I have a name," Jace said calmly, "Of course I wouldn't expect you to use it." He peeked into the fire mage's mind, "Derek."

"Hey! You got into my head for that didn't you?" Derek snarled, "You'll pay for that!"

Jace ducked under his fist, "Actually if you'd let me explain I can tell you where I got your name."

"Oh yeah? Where?" Derek snapped.

"I heard it yesterday when the teachers were learning the student's names. The fire mages were grouped right next to us after all," Jace smirked.

Erin watched uneasily, "C'mon Jace. It's a bad idea to antagonize this guy."

Jace met Derek's gaze, "Or was that too hard for you to comprehend?" He slid past him with magically enhanced speed, "Anyway, I don't plan on being late. See you later." He disappeared down the hallway. _There I go again. I'm going to make an enemy of every single person in this city if I keep this up. Oh well. That's okay. I'll just have to deal with it. I've already made an enemy of my first teacher of the day. Yay._

"You're late," the history teacher snapped.

"Sorry," Jace said. He sat down. "I was only late by two seconds," he muttered under his breath.

"What's that?"

"Nothing," Jace shook his head. He tuned out everything. _I probably should have done something smaller than a dragon. Oh well. I did a dragon. I might as well do my best even if doing my best makes everyone my enemy. It's alright._

"Well looks like class is over!" the biological science teach smiled.

Jace cocked his head to the side. _None of the teachers have introduced themselves. If they haven't yet then I don't think they will._

"Jace," she said suddenly.

Jace hung his head. _Great. What'd I do this time?_ "Yeah?"

"Come here please," she smiled warmly.

Jace walked reluctantly up to her while Lucy and Erin hovered in the doorway, "Yeah?"

"I'm going to warn you now to be careful," she said calmly. Jace sensed an urgency under all of it that he found unnerving, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that the law is not kind to people like you," she said.

Jace looked at her curiously, "What?"

"The law is specifically designed to hurt telepaths because they are not trusted. You can tune us out all you want to but the only reason we tell you what we do is because when a telepath is deemed a rogue they will be hunted relentlessly until they are killed."

"Rogue?" Jace asked.

She shook her head, "If you don't know what that is then someone left you out of the loop on purpose." She met his gaze evenly, "A rogue mage is a mage that feels emotion. They explain it to the people as a mage that has lost control of their emotions and therefore their magic but it's really just a mage that feels emotion. The government doesn't trust mages. One telepath could topple it with a thought. Telepaths are conditioned into being robots."

Jace's eyes widened, "What?" _Why would someone keep me from knowing this? Why didn't anyone ever tell me about this?_

"The fact that you feel emotion is not a bad thing. It's a very human thing," she smiled, "and the more of your humanity you can hold onto the better off you will be."

Jace suddenly realized that she was the only teacher in the building he had seen show any kind of emotion, "How come you aren't in trouble?"

"Because I'm a lightning mage," she shrugged, "the mages that use red mana are expected to feel over the top emotions so we are taught to control emotions instead of drowning them all out. Now go hang out with your friends." She stood up and left the room.

"Wait!" Jace sighed as she disappeared.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Erin said as Jace walked out of the room.

"I'm fine," Jace shook his head.

"Are you sure?" Lucy asked.

"I said I'm fine," Jace snapped.

Lucy stepped back, "Sorry."

Jace shook his head, "It's not your fault. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"Okay," Lucy nodded.

Erin's eyes were wide. _This guy doesn't bother trying to hide his emotions. Lucy covers the negative ones in a shell of happiness but he just doesn't give a damn. He's going to get in trouble._

Jace led the way to the library.


	16. Chapter 16

"Jace," the librarian greeted them, "Did you bring that book back?"

Jace swallowed nervously, "No. It's still sitting on my bed."

The librarian shook his head in amusement, "Be sure to bring it back then."

Jace nodded, "Sure."

The librarian's eyes narrowed as he eyed Jace's backpack. Being a master of detection magic he could identify any magical item with amazing speed. _A spellbook? Where would he have gotten his hands on that? _

Jace sat at a table by the gate.

"I'm going to assume that you came here when you got kicked out yesterday?" Erin asked.

Jace nodded, "Yep."

"It was really interesting," Lucy cocked her head to the side, "Why'd you keep zoning out?"

"I had other things on my mind," Jace shrugged. He glanced up as Derek approached them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the super special one. You can't kiss up to the teachers you know," Derek smirked.

Jace rolled his eyes, "For your information I've actually made an enemy of most of them."

"Oh yeah? Where'd you learn that little trick then?"

Jace sighed. He turned to the gate and studied it, ignoring Derek. _He can go on for as long as he wants to._ Jace's eyes narrowed. _That's annoying. The spell picks up on any student trying to get past it. It'd probably take a spell more powerful than it is to undo it but then they'll be able to tell because the enchantments will be gone._

"Look out!"

Jace turned and barely managed to duck under a ray of flames from Derek's outstretched hand.

"You paying attention now punk?" Derek asked.

Jace rolled his eyes, "I might be if you bothered forming complete sentences."

"You'd dare insult me? I'm above you!" more flames shot in Jace's direction. Jace sidestepped quickly. _I really need to learn a spell that can protect me against this guy's fire if he's going to continue with this. This is annoying. _"In case you hadn't noticed I'm a little too busy at the moment to deal with you," Jace snapped harshly.

"Then I'll just have to deal with you," Derek snarled.

Jace's eyes narrowed, "Seriously? You can't even hit me with your fire."

"You wanna bet?"

"That's enough," the librarian canceled the spell before Derek finished casting it.

Jace looked around. _Nothing got damaged. Odd. Well not really. The teachers here are mages after all._

"Derek you idiot," Erin shook his head, "Every single teacher in this building knows when and where any student casts a spell. You've already been caught."

Derek snarled.

Jace sighed, "Great." _Derek went and got me in trouble as if I wasn't in enough already._

The law magic teacher pulled the two of them out of the library, "What is going on?"

Jace opened his mouth to speak but Derek beat him to it.

"He was getting in my head and it pissed me off," Derek said quickly.

Jace stared at him, "What?" His face hardened into an angry glare, "You liar. You're the one that picked a fight with me!"

"Derek, don't lie," Jace's teacher said evenly. _Jace watch your emotions._

"Oh lay off," Jace snapped.

"She is a teacher and deserving of respect," the law mage stated evenly.

"To be fair it was Derek that antagonized," the lightning mage winked at Jace, "and then lied about it. I'm sure his patience is thin. Some time to calm down may be the best thing for him."

Jace gritted his teeth.

"Very well," the law teacher nodded curtly, "Return to the library for now."

Jace nodded.

"That was terrifying," Lucy whispered, "I thought you were going to get hit with his fire."

Jace shrugged, "I might have." He stared dully at the table the three of them were sitting at. _I have half an hour till Jordyn comes to pick me up. That half hour is when the students here basically have downtime after three classes. The classes run well into the evening technically. But because Kylle insisted on my half days I only have three classes. Of course that means I won't have the same classes every day and I'll technically be behind._ He let his forehead rest on the edge of the table. _I'm so tired. That spell I tried last night really was exhausting. Then I went and created a dragon to piss off the teacher. _

"Jace," Lucy poked him in the back of the head.

"What?" Jace didn't lift his head.

"It looks like something's going on outside," Lucy said.

Jace lifted his head and wandered over to the window she was standing by.

"I can't really tell what it is," Lucy shrugged.

Jace's eyes narrowed. _Well that's annoying. I can augment my speed so why not my sight? It'll take another few days to master but that's okay. I'll do that and work on the wing spell sporadically through that. _Jace sat back down at the table.

"You look really tired," Erin commented, "That dragon must have been harder than you made it look."

"Maybe a little," Jace muttered. He found himself continually glancing at the clock until finally the half hour passed.

"Jace your brother's here."

Jace nodded. He grabbed his backpack and walked slowly out the door. _Okay, I think I'm going to convince him to let me sit this one out. _

"What happened to you?" Jarvis was with him.

Jace rolled his eyes, "I created a dragon that's what happened."

"We heard about that," Jordyn nodded.

"Apparently there's a prodigy child at this school that can create an illusion of a dragon on his first real day," Jarvis smirked, "Nice job."

"I'm sitting today out," Jace muttered.

Jordyn nodded, "Not surprised."

"Conner's not going to let you get away with sitting tomorrow out though," Jarvis warned, "so I wouldn't go around exhausting yourself."

Jace nodded, "Yeah, yeah." He sat under a tree and spent the first thirty minutes of the afternoon trying not to fall asleep before giving up.

Jordyn shook his head, "Damn. He rarely ever sleeps inside let alone outside."

"He's dozed off before," Jarvis shrugged.

Conner smiled, "A dragon is an advanced illusion. I'm not even an illusionist and I know that."

"What happened?" Orriyon asked curiously when Jordyn carried Jace in.

"He fell asleep," Jordyn shrugged.

"You let him fall asleep?" Kylle asked.

Jordyn shrugged, "He exhausted himself at school today and asked to sit this afternoon out. He was falling over practically anyway."

Kylle shook his head, "He should learn to conserve his energy."

Conner's eyes narrowed, "You teach him then. If you don't like how we're doing it and you think you can do it better then you do it."

"I'm too busy to be able to teach him properly," Kylle said evenly.

Conner nodded, "Then don't criticize."

Jordyn shook his head. _That definitely wasn't unexpected_. He set Jace down on his bed before going back downstairs and eating.


	17. Chapter 17

It took Jace a couple of weeks to master the spell that granted him wings. He didn't practice it every night. Getting into trouble at school was a daily occurrence and trouble at home happened almost as often. Jace spent a lot of his time in his own head and by himself. He also managed to build up walls that made it more difficult for the teacher to read him.

"Jace!"

Jace's eyes widened. _Lucy?_ "What are you doing?" he turned to face her.

"Getting off school grounds in the middle of the night was hard," she smiled, "but I did it!"

Jace nodded, "I see that but what are you doing?"

"I wanted to investigate. I figured you'd been practicing on your own for a while now," Lucy shrugged.

Jace bit his lower lip, "You have to go back. You're going to get into trouble."

"Oh come on," Lucy pouted, "You've been sneaking out of your house and past the city guard for however long now."

"That's because I can," Jace snapped.

Lucy stared at him, "I just…I wanted to spend time with you."

Jace's eyes widened. _Please don't start crying._ "I spend time with you every day."

"No you don't!" Lucy shook her head, "You sit next to me at a table in the library and read. That's not the same."

Jace shook his head, "Look you have to go back. You're going to get into trouble. You really shouldn't have snuck out."

"You do it!"

"You don't have the amount of power you need to cast the spells that can cover you up," Jace said impatiently.

Lucy smiled suddenly, "You do. You can help me!"

Jace bit his lower lip, "Actually I can't."

"Why not?" She cocked her head to the side.

"Because I don't have the ability to cover both of us up," Jace lied.

"Oh," Lucy looked sad again, "But I want to spend time with you. I mean you never really pay any attention to me."

Jace took a deep breath. _No! Don't cry. Please don't cry._ "Look I'll spend more time with you from now on if you promise to go back and to not sneak out again. I just don't want you to get into trouble. You're a good student. I'm not. You don't need that kind of stain on your reputation."

Lucy brightened, "You promise!"

Jace nodded, "If you go back I'll spend more time with you. I promise."

She smiled happily, "Okay!" She turned and started to jog back towards the school. Suddenly she stopped and turned back to him, "See you tomorrow then! We have tomorrow off."

_I forgot about that. We do have tomorrow off._ Jace nodded and gave her a small wave. _I'm actually going to follow her to make sure she makes it back._ He hurried up to the school and climbed onto the roof of the building Erin and Lucy basically lived in. He saw Erin watching through a window. _I knew she couldn't have made it out on her own. _

Lucy slipped nervously back into the building. Once she was back inside Jace slid awkwardly down the roof and dropped to the ground. He managed to create the wings long enough to keep the drop from killing him. He landed and had to take it into a roll. _That hurt._ He hurried off school grounds. _I'm never dropping off of a rooftop again. That did not feel good at all._

"I should probably go home," Jace sighed as he looked up at the sky. _Dammit. That was annoying. I wasted time following her._ "Oh well. It's done now and I wanted to make sure she made it back without getting in trouble." He wandered back to the house. _We're just going to walk in the front door. I don't want to scrape my hands up any more than they already are._

"How'd you get outside?" Kylle asked the moment Jace walked in.

Jace met his gaze evenly, "I went on an early morning walk around the city."

_You idiot. _"You do realize that there's a reason there's a curfew here?"

Jace shrugged, "Like I care. I wasn't hurt and I won't be doing it again so it doesn't matter." _Do you have to find fault with everything I do? Or are you just trying to piss me off?_

Kylle glowered at him, "Stay outta my head. I don't need you snooping around."

"Right," Jace nodded sarcastically, "you don't want me to know any secrets you might be keeping."

Kylle rolled his eyes, "Go to your room. I'm not wasting any more of my time."

"I'll go to my room when I want to," Jace shrugged, "Right now I'm getting something to eat."

"You'll go to your room now," Kylle snapped angrily. _You'd dare defy me?_

"Oh be quiet," Jace sighed, "I'll go to my room when I want and you can't make me." He met Kylle's eyes defiantly.

"You're a defiant little brat that thinks he can do what he wants just cause he can use magic," Kylle had long since given up trying to hide his opinion of Jace from him. He did however hide it from Jace's siblings and mother as well as he could.

Jace shrugged, "Are you gonna stop me?"

"Just know that when you go rogue I'll hunt you down personally," Kylle's eyes narrowed.

Jace rolled his eyes, "You seem pretty sure of that outcome."

"It's only a matter of time if you keep up this attitude," Kylle insisted.

Jace rolled his eyes, "I'm good." Instead of going to his room he walked out the front door.

"Jace!" Kylle snapped.

Jace ignored him and walked around behind the house. He sat against the outer wall and stared up at the sky. _I can't wait to get out of here. I don't want to be here anymore. I want to be a planeswalker. Of course I don't know how to become one. I just want to see everything else that could be out there. And get away from Kylle. That'd be nice too. Maybe just get away from everything and be able to be what I want and not what everyone else wants._ He climbed up the side of the building into his room. _At least Kylle didn't realize I'd covered the book up with an illusion. Being captain of the guard I'd expect him to at least be able to sense magic but apparently not. _He slid the giant book under his pillow before sitting on his bed. He stared up at the ceiling, "I have nothing to do this morning." The realization hit him suddenly. _Well what can I do this morning? I don't know. I'll just stay in my room and figure it out later._


	18. Chapter 18

"Jace, go outside. You have the day off, so spend some time with your siblings," Vadanya heard their mom order. _Oh great. _

"Danya!" Lucy smiled and waved as she ran up to her, "Hey." She was panting and out of breath from running.

Vadanya smiled, "What's up?"

Lucy shrugged, "This is Erin." She introduced the boy standing next to her.

Vadanya nodded calmly, "Hey."

Jace walked slowly out the back door into the grass outside the house.

"Jace!" Lucy smiled happily.

Vadanya rolled her eyes, "I swear." _It's not like he's a good role model. He does whatever he wants without realizing that he influences others choices and personalities. Oh well. The irony of this is hilarious. He's the telepath. He's the one that should know that and yet he's just as dense as any other person._ She shook her head and followed Lucy up to him. Jace looked annoyed as she continued to talk to him about something. Vadanya didn't listen.

"Look at that," Orriyon pointed to a glowing moth hovering above them. Vadanya's eyes widened, "It's a Moonglow Moth."

"Bet you can't catch that moth over there Jace," Jordyn challenged his little brother.

Jace glanced at it and then at him, "I can catch it."

"Prove it," Jordyn smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.

Jace's eyes narrowed, "Fine." He looked up at it and his eyes narrowed.

Vadanya sat down on the ground, "This is probably going to be a while." Orriyon sat next to her, "In the old stories if someone can catch a Moonglow Moth they can command the angels."

"Those are just stories though," Lucy said.

Orriyon pouted, "I know. I was just saying."

"I'm sorry." Lucy said quickly, "Don't be upset."

Orriyon continued to pout.

Erin sighed, "Catching one is impossible. Not even people that hunt these moths professionally can catch one."

"You know something," Vadanya met the older boy's gaze, "Trust him to do something that's impossible. Jace's stubborn." _And surprisingly good at jumping off of things. _She shook her head.

"I wonder if he will catch it," Lucy watched him curiously. Jace was just standing studying it intently.

Vadanya sighed. _He also over analyzes everything._ She shook her head, "The longer you wait the more likely it is to fly away."

Jace glanced at her and rolled his eyes. He returned to studying it before going inside.

Vadanya heard their mother yell at him and get no response. Orriyon stiffened suddenly. Vadanya glanced at her worriedly, "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, "I'm going to go get a jar."

"You think he's going to catch it?" Erin asked in shock.

"He'll catch it," Orriyon nodded. She went inside and returned a moment later with a jar. Vadanya took one of Conner's arrows and used to tip of it to cut four slits into the lid of the jar.

Erin stared at them, "You seriously think he's going to catch it."

"Orriyon's never wrong," Jordyn shrugged, "at least she hasn't been yet."

Lucy cocked her head to the side, "She's never been wrong?"

Vadanya shook her head, "Nope."

Erin stared at them, "Is she a mage?"

Orriyon shook her head, "Mages can sense each other's presences. You, being a mage would know if I was."

"How does she know that?" Lucy asked.

Vadanya shrugged, "She knows a lot of things without explanation."

Erin glanced at her uncertainly before nodding, "Alright."

Jace climbed out of his window and dropped onto the overhang under it with practiced ease. The moth hovered near the overhang. Jace however would have to jump off of it in order to catch the moth.

Vadanya watched him curiously. _I wonder if he will catch it. If he doesn't it'll be the first time Orriyon's ever been wrong. That'd be interesting if this is the first time she's wrong. _

Jace jumped and dropped to the ground. His hands were cupped closed.

"Did you catch it?" Erin asked.

Jace opened his hands and the moth spread its wings in his hands.

Erin's eyes widened, "That's crazy."

Orriyon walked up to Jace and held the open jar in front of him.

Jace gently put the moth in the jar and closed it.

"He…caught it," Erin blinked.

Jace glanced at him, "Yeah? It's not that impossible."

Jordyn pouted, "Dammit. I didn't think he'd be able to catch it."

Conner shook her head, "Jordyn, you do realize that you're talking about one of your siblings here? Any of them could've caught it."

"And I couldn't?" Jordyn asked.

"You'd have slid right off of that," Conner pointed to the overhang under Jace's window, "I hate to break it to you but you're too big."

Jordyn stuck out his tongue, "Oh well."

Conner ruffled Jace's hair. He remained silent though he looked slightly annoyed by it.

Lucy smiled, "You caught it!"

"Now according to the stories you have command over the angels," Orriyon added. She walked over to Vadanya and sat next to her, "I'm tired."

"Of course you are," Vadanya sighed.

Erin glanced at the blonde before returning to the conversation he was having.

Vadanya's eyes narrowed. _Why won't he just let up? He knows that he'd know if Orriyon was a mage. _She sighed and laid on her back. She stared at the sky and watched the clouds drift across it.

"I don't think the happy times will last forever," Orriyon whispered in her ear, "They'll end soon. Very soon."

Vadanya glanced at her, "Seriously?"

Orriyon nodded, "I just have an ominous feeling."

Vadanya swallowed nervously. _If Orriyon's never wrong then the happy times are going to be over. And if she calls this the happy times then I'm scared of what's next. _

Jace glanced at them. His eyes narrowed.

Vadanya met his gaze and shrugged. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

She opened her eyes to Orriyon shaking her roughly. "What's wrong?" She asked as she sat up.

Orriyon stared at her before looking away, "Never mind."

"What's wrong?" Vadanya asked. _Dammit Jace. I knew you weren't a good role model. If she stops talking to us then she's going to end up feeling like everything is her fault._

"Well," Orriyon still didn't look at her, "I just…I, um…"

Vadanya waited patiently for her to explain.

"Jace is going to go rogue," Orriyon said quietly, "I didn't want to talk to anyone about it because that's bad and if someone were to find out then Jace could get in trouble right now but if Jace finds out then he could get mad at me."

Vadanya nodded, "We'll be careful then. We'll just keep an eye on what happens and make sure we do our best to make sure he…never mind. I'm sure you know as well as I do that that won't work." _I don't know how to deal with something like that. Jace attracts trouble like a magnet and he doesn't give a damn because he knows no one can really do anything to him._

Orriyon started to cry.

"No," Vadanya hugged her quickly, "Please don't cry. I'll figure something out I promise."

Orriyon nodded, "What is a rogue mage anyway?"

"Supposedly a rogue mage is a bad one," Vadanya shrugged, "Other than that I don't know."

"But Jace isn't bad," Orriyon brightened, "So maybe I'm wrong!"

Vadanya nodded, "Let's go to the room." She led her inside and up the stairs. _I hope she is wrong because I don't know how to deal with that. She'll be completely shattered and Lucy will fall apart and Jordyn's going to be pissed and everyone's going to lose their minds. I'll get caught in the middle of all the chaos unable to help in anyway._


	19. Chapter 19

Jace just managed to avoid Kylle's patrol as he slipped into the outside edges of the city. Three years had passed and nothing had really changed. He was the top student at his school and the biggest trouble as far as most of them were concerned. His wandering thoughts were drawn to the conversation he had just overheard between Lucy's father and the figurehead of the school. Icy cold anger gripped as the words rang in his head.

_"We can't tell him yet," Lucy's father insisted._

_"Don't you think he deserves to know he's living a lie?" the head of the school regardly the telepath calmly._

_"He's still too emotionally unstable. It could push him to going rogue."_

_"You know as well as I do that he's already on that path and determined to walk it. It is much easier for a telepath to go rogue than any other mage. You know this, having walked that line many times yourself."_

Jace gritted his teeth. _How am I living a lie? What do they know that I don't?_ He jumped as he heard voices nearby. He recognized Kylle and his anger increased. _I already know he hates me._ Jace used a quick spell to allow him to see and hear what was going on as clearly as if he were right next to them.

"Crystal?" Kylle asked doubtfully.

One of the guards near him muttered under his breath, "What kind of person would name their kid after an object?"

"Mine obviously," the girl's hair was a flame red and her orange glowed irritably, "Got a problem with it?"

Jace cocked his head to the side. _There's no way that girl's name is Crystal. And no one in the area has red hair. Nobody in this freaking nation has red hair._ He had missed the guards response but the satisfied look on her face told him that he had told her what she wanted to hear. Jace studied the girl closely. She had long hair and looked at least a year, probably closer to two, older than Vadanya. Her black boots went up to her thighs while her black pants were tucked loosely into them. She wore a long shirt that could've easily passed for a small dress. There was a gold band along the collar but otherwise it was as black as the rest of her clothes. Her gloves were short and fingerless. He quickly decided it would probably be best if he got her out of the situation she was currently in. Without a satisfactory explanation of her purpose this girl, whoever she was, wasn't going to get past Kylle without a fight and she was a terrible liar. He created an illusion in front of her that copied everything that was around and behind her. The guards spoke amongst themselves in surprise.

She looked around in surprise.

_Come here._ The girl noticed him and darted over to him. Jace grabbed her arm just over her wrist and led her deeper into the alleys. He eventually stopped once he was certain Kylle hadn't bothered to follow. _I probably just got myself into a ton of trouble. Oh well. It wouldn't be anything different from any other day._

"I could've handled that myself," she insisted.

Jace rolled her eyes, though he didn't look at her, "Whatever." He continued on his way home. _You've gotten me into enough trouble. I'm going to gather up any more of it._ He could feel her glare burning into the back of his head, "And what makes you think I couldn't?"

Jace stopped. He didn't turn back to her, "They wouldn't have believed your fake name." He hissed through his teeth in annoyance and continued walking.

She followed him, "Oh really?"

Jace bit his lower lip to keep from snapping at her. _I doubt she'd be anywhere near fazed anyway. If first impressions are anything to go off of then she's probably crazy. _"No one here names their kids after objects," he sighed, "even if they are pretty things like crystal."

"I obviously don't come from around here," she snapped.

"Obviously," Jace caught a view of her from the corner of his eye. _Why is she so irritable anyway? I helped her. Any other person...well except...nevermind. At least some people would be grateful. She seems annoyed by it._

"You stole that didn't you?" her eyes were focused on the book in his hand.

"What?" Jace turned and stared at her, "No." _I didn't steal it. I borrowed it. There's a difference. I do plan on returning the book someday._

"Yeah right," she smirked knowingly, "I know a good thief when I see one. You held the book in the hand that they would never see and you knew to stay in the shadows of the alleys to cast your spell."

"That's just competence," Jace muttered. He lowered his head so his hair covered his face. _Dammit. I barely know her and she's already blabbing on like she's known me all my life. What if she has? Okay that's not even possible. She's obviously younger than me. Then again there are a multitude of human-like races that age more slowly. That's creepy._

She rolled her eyes and obviously didn't believe him, "Whatever."

Jace lifted his head and glared at her, "Can you go away? You're starting to annoy me."

She paused to think while Jace turned to continue walking, "Sure."

_Good riddance. I got you into the city now leave me alone. I'm already in a heap of trouble for helping you. Don't get me in anymore._ He looked around as he caught movement on the edge of his vision. The redhead was gone. He spun around twice and even looked up towards the rooftops but he couldn't see her. "Where'd she go?" Jace swallowed nervously. _I really hope she isn't going to cause a lot of trouble. What if she's a mass murderer and she's going to kill everyone?_ He continued walking toward his house. _At least if she was it would stop this boring routine dead in it's tracks._


	20. Chapter 20

"It'd be nice if you could stop following me," Jace muttered just loud enough for Phoenix to hear. He had only learned her name in the two days since he first met her. He didn't doubt it was at the very least a name she went by often. He wasn't entirely positive it was her real name but it made more sense than Crystal. He heard her hiss in annoyance, "Why should I?"

"Because I don't like being followed," Jace shrugged. _Like my preferences are going to matter to her._

"Plenty of people dislike being followed," she shrugged, "Why are you any different?"

Jace bit his lip, "Look can you just stop?"

"No," she shook her head.

"Why not?" Jace snapped.

"I don't want to," Phoenix shrugged.

"It goes deeper than that doesn't it?" Jace asked, "All you've done is complain about this."

She glared at him. Her orange eyes glowed with an inner light suddenly, "I said I want to."

Jace held her gaze for a moment longer before lowering his gaze, "Whatever." He turned and began to walk towards the city, "Are you here by yourself?"

Phoenix nodded, "Yep!"

"You sound happy about that," Jace looked at her in surprise.

"Well yeah," Phoenix nodded, "because I'm here all by myself I don't have to worry about everyone's stupid nagging. I can do what I want and there's no one to protest."

"I'm pretty sure plenty of people will protest," Jace muttered.

"Sure but they can't make me do anything. It's my life," she skipped in a circle around him.

Jace stopped so he didn't run into her, "Seriously? You just go around doing what you want because you don't think anyone can make you do anything?"

She nodded, "In the end every decision is mine to make. Sure people can demand things and give me orders but it's my decision to obey or not."

Jace shook his head, "You're crazy." he continued walking.

"No, you're boring," Phoenix stuck out her tongue. She caught up with hi quickly, "I mean you don't always do as your told do you? If you think another way would be more efficient but someone insists on doing it their way would you do it that way?"

"No," Jace shook his head.

"Exactly. In my opinion people are stupid," Phoenix shrugged, "and law mages aren't worth humoring."

Jace couldn't help but smile. He shook his head, "Yeah, you're crazy."

"Like you can talk," Phoenix smirked, "You're the one that decided to pick a fight with the world."

"I don't have much of a choice," Jace muttered, "I either pick a fight with the world or I become a robot that doesn't think on it's own."

"That isn't much of a choice is it?" Phoenix cocked her head to the side.

Jace made back into his room before dawn. His conversation with Phoenix rang in his ears.

Jace sat up on his bed. He glanced at his bedroom door before lying back down, "I don't feel like going to school today." He stared at the ceiling in boredom. _Well. If I'm not going to school then what am I going to do? _Jace sat up again and looked around his room. The jar that held the moonglow moth he had caught sat on the only clear space on his bookshelf. Once he laid his eyes on it, it glowed much more brightly than it did usually. Jace leaped to his feet and darted over to the bookshelf. He lifted the jar carefully. "Hey," he hissed, "keep the glow down. My parents thought I set you free. If you go around illuminating my entire room they'll know something's up!"

"Jace?!"

Jace's eyes widened. He dropped to the ground and rolled under his bed. He zipped his jacket up over the jar and waited for his mother to leave.

"Are you in there? You're supposed to be up for school," she sounded annoyed. _I give up. It's not like he ever listens anyway. Jordyn never needed me to nag him for every little thing._

Jace's eyes narrowed. _Good for Jordyn because, trust me, I don't like your nagging._ He heard her footsteps fade away as she walked back down the stairs. The moment she began to walk away the moth's glow intensified, temporarily blinding him. He rolled out from under his bed and unzipped his jacket, "What do you want?" The moth flew up toward the lid of the jar. Jace shook his head, "No way." It continued to hover insistently. Jace bit his lower lip. He glanced toward the door warily, "Fine. Fine." He popped open the lid. Instantly the moth flew down onto the ground below him. Jace cocked his head to the side. _What?_ It drew symbols on the floor that he did not recognize until it had created a complete circle around him. The room around him faded and places he had never heard of took it's place.

It was like he was floating above the world, standing on glass that could only support him. His eyes widened in awe and shock. He was standing over a city. The buildings were taller than anything he'd seen, even in the books Jarvis brought him. A sphynx flew in front of the buildings he was staring at. Jace felt the wind from it's wings rip at his hair and clothes. He lowered his head and narrowed his eyes. When he lifted his head words wrote themselves in front of him in glowing white writing. 'There are so many worlds in the multiverse.' His surroundings changed in a blinding flash of white light. A large mountain range rose before him. He could see the details of the rocky trail that wound up into the mountains. His feet were planted firmly on the ground instead of floating above it like he had been previously. He stiffened as voices sounded behind him. Jace turned to see an older man leading a young man that was maybe three years older than him. _Their headed right for me!_ Jace gritted his teeth. He could turn but he could not move from this spot. More words wrote themselves at eye level. 'So many worlds that no one planeswalker...'

"No one planeswalker what?" Jace asked disappointedly. He was prepared for the bright flash of light and recovered from it more quickly. He could see nothing but gray rock and dying trees. A dry fierce wind blew rocks and dust into his face. The final dying leaves were ripped off the trees. Jace shielded his face with his arms and coughed. He kept an eye out for the writing. It didn't appeared until the wind died and he could see better. '...can see them all.' In a blinding flash he was back in his room. The moth flew willingly back into the jar. Jace blinked in shock, "Wow..." He found himself completely speechless, which was a rare thing here more often now. He put the lid back on the jar and put it back on the bookshelf.

Jace sat on his bed. His mouth felt like he had swallowed mouthfuls of dust and his throat burned. His eyes felt dry and he was exhausted. _I'm going to take a nap. That's what I'm going to do instead of going to school._ He curled up on his bed and closed his eyes. _I could feel the wind. I could see every feather and hair on that sphinx's body. It was like I was actually there. I heard those two people talking to each other. Unfortunately they were too far away to hear what they were saying. I felt the dust and rocks in the wind on the last world. Everything there was dead. Were there even people there? I can't really imagine there would be._ He fell asleep quickly.

When he opened his eyes the sun was setting. Jordyn was leaning against the doorway to his room. He had a warning look on his face. Jace swallowed nervously. _Uh-oh._

Jordyn nodded, "You're dead."

Jace rolled his eyes and sighed, "Yes well, it's not like it could be avoided. They would've found some reason or other to yell at me anyway."

Jordyn shrugged, "You have a point." He led the way down the stairs.

Jace yawned as he got up and followed him. "Hi," he muttered dully.

"Hi?" Kylle repeated angrily.

Jace shrugged, "Yeah. Hi." He met Kylle's gaze evenly, "I heard you wanted my head on a silver platter?"

Kylle's eyes narrowed, "Now is not the time for your smart mouth."

Jace nodded and lowered his gaze.

"You weren't even at school today," Kylle snarled.

Jace nodded, "Yes. I wasn't at school." _Thanks ever so much for noticing._ He sighed.

"Why not?" Kylle asked impatiently.

"I didn't want to," Jace answered.

"You didn't want to? There are plenty of things in life that you won't want to do. You have to do them anyway."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Last I checked being a robot was not on my list of things I want for my life."

"That school is teaching you how to control your abilities," Kylle's voice lowered dangerously.

Jace ignored the obvious warning in his tone and snapped, "Control? Yeah right. More like bury."

"You'd have been executed by now if not for that school and Lucy's father recommending you to it," Kylle grabbed Jace's collar, "Or is dying on the list of things you want for your life?"

"Lucy's father?" Jace snarled, "He's nothing but a liar."

Jordyn sighed and shook his head. _And for the seventieth time in the last four weeks these two are on the verge of killing each other._ He noticed Orriyon watching them fight with wide scared eyes. Vadanya was obviously trying to get her to go up to the room but the younger girl refused, insisting that it was important. Jordyn shook his head. _I'm absolutely amazed at what's happened to us. Used to be I'd argue with Mom about Jace but none of the three of them would know about it. Now Jace is arguing with Kylle and Orriyon's watching it like it's a horror movie that she _has_ to watch. Vadanya refuses to leave her side at all and I can't intervene without getting my head ripped off._ Jordyn leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. _So it looks like I'll be watching this one until they leap at each other._


	21. Chapter 21

Jace seethed angrily as he walked toward the cliff outside the city. He flopped onto the ground and opened the book in his lap. _I might as well do something productive. Let's try...invisibility. That'll come in handy. It will definitely make my life easier. 'None of the three of you are powerful enough to learn something as complicated as invisibility.' _Jace's eyes narrowed, "Yeah right. I'll teach it to myself then." _And prove to you that I can do it because I don't like you._ He succeeded in casting the invisibility spell on his fourth try. It only turned him invisible. He wasn't going to try a more complicated invisibility spell for a little while longer. Jace rolled his eyes as he sensed a somewhat familiar presence, "I know you're there."

"Of course you do," Phoenix snapped.

"Why have you been following me the past two nights? Well three counting tonight?" Jace asked. _Like I'll get a straight answer but it won't hurt to ask. _He set the book down and stood. He turned to face her.

"Because I wanted to see what you were doing. Curious minds do wish to know you know," Phoenix shrugged.

Jace narrowed his eyes. _Right. That was a lie._ He tried looking into her thoughts.

"I wouldn't try picking through my head if I were you. All you're gonna get is a raging headache," she warned.

Jace ignored her. He could pick up surface thoughts but none of her motives. He tried digging a little deeper and was hit with a wall of chaotic thought and emotion that he could not even begin to sort through. He pulled out quickly, "Jeez. What? How?"

"I'm a fire mage," she looked confident.

"I've read fire mages," Jace muttered. _I don't get it. How can she even think straight like that?_

"Good for you," Phoenix smirked at him, "I'm not just a regular fire mage though." She started walking away from him.

Jace cocked his head to the side, "Wait!" He started to follow her but the moment he did she broke into a run. He stopped, "Fine." He returned to the book but he just stared at it. His thoughts wandered. _I don't get it. She's obviously here for a reason and she's followed me three nights in a row now. There has to be a reason for it but all I got was the fact that she was really annoyed with someone._ Jace sighed. He got to his feet as the sky began to brighten. He grabbed the book cast a spell to augment his speed and darted home.

The climb into his room was easy. He hid the book under his bed, grabbed his backpack and left.

Vadanya's eyes narrowed as she watched Jace walk out the front door. _Orriyon didn't sleep last night because she was worried about you. You're on a slippery slope and you're the only one that doesn't seem to know that. _Vadanya shook her head and went to get her sister.

Orriyon was sitting on her bed staring out the window, "Hey Vadanya?"

"What is it?" Vadanya asked. Worry instantly drove all her anger at her brother away.

"If I were to disappear, would you miss me?"

"What?" Vadanya stared at her, "You're not going to disappear! Ever! I'll make sure of it."

"Well, I'm just saying. If I did?"

"Of course I would miss you. You're my sister."

Orriyon nodded. _They might just do it this time. If they do then I will disappear._

Vadanya continued to stare at the young blonde for a while, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Orriyon nodded, "What if Jace were to disappear? Would you miss him?"

Vadanya opened her mouth and then realized that she was about to lie to her. She closed it again and paused to think. _I don't think I would but then again I won't know unless he does._ "I don't know."

Orriyon nodded, "There's two ways this can play out but either way Jace is gone."

Vadanya's eyes widened, "Only two?"

"He's already chosen his path," Orriyon lowered her head, "and he chose solitude. He chose that the moment we met Kylle."

"That sucks for him," Vadanya shrugged indifferently. Inside however she was seething with rage. _He's really just going to abandon us like that? I knew he was drifting away but abandoning us? We're his siblings. What about Orriyon?_ She shrugged again.

Orriyon swallowed uneasily, "Vadanya, Kylle is going to die in an attack on the city. Someone wants to find Jace and will stop at nothing to get to him." She stared at her sister obviously looking for reassurance, "I can't see Jordyn or Conner in any of the possibilities. Will they die?"

"Of course not," Vadanya shook her head, "They may not be there but they're perfectly capable of taking care of themselves."

Orriyon didn't look convinced but nodded. She sighed, "I think I'll sleep now."

Vadanya nodded.

Orriyon closed her eyes. Instantly a fuzzy image of a creature filled her mind. She did not feel threatened by the creature though she could not see it.

"Orriyon," a deep voice boomed in her mind, "In light of the possibilities you have seen I have a gift for you."

"What sort of gift?" Orriyon asked calmly. She could not see any details of the creature but she knew exactly who it was. She spoke with him often.

"I'm going to give you a small portion of my power. It will help you to protect yourself, your family, and the friends you have yet to make. It will manifest in it's own way."

Orriyon nodded, "Thank you." She looked up at him and pulled a chain out of her pocket. The links were multiple colors and no two links were the same colors. It was coiled around itself in her palm, "Do I really have to disappear when this is over?"

"Unfortunately yes. You will no longer have a purpose."

"But aren't my friends purpose enough?"

"I suppose you could see it that way but there is nothing I can do to stop you from disappearing. You are tied to the repetition and therefore once it is broken your existence will fade."

"Will they forget me?"

"The heart and soul never forget though the mind will."

Orriyon nodded, "I guess that's the best I have."

"Rest now. You have a lot of work ahead of you. I have aided you and your guardian in every way I can."

Orriyon sighed, "Thank you." The image faded to memory and darkness took it's place.


	22. Chapter 22

_Erin sighed. He glanced at Lucy, "There's only one reason they would have for calling an assembly for the entire school. Jace went rogue."_

_Lucy didn't appear to hear him. She had been out of it for the few days it had been since Erin had seen Jace. She was muttering under her breath. "He'll come back. He'll come back and explain everything. Jace'll come back," she was saying when Erin paused to listen. He shook his head and continued walking towards the courtyard. The first thing he noticed was the odd look on the lightning mage teacher's face. She looked almost smug but covered it up behind a grave look making her look a little odd. Erin cocked his head to the side curiously._

_"Jace has gone rogue," the head of the school announced gravely, "That makes him very dangerous. Soldiers from the city will come to our school campus tomorrow morning to search the school grounds. I doubt he'd be here but if he is they will find him. You must not impede them in any way."_

_Erin rolled his eyes, "Like they'd be able to find him. Our own teacher couldn't find him if he didn't want to be found..."_

Orriyon blinked and the image in her mind changed.

_Erin walked past Lucy's opened door pausing to listen to her mumblings, "He didn't explain anything. They didn't find him. If he was innocent then he wouldn't have run right?" She lifted her head from her knees, "I know who knows where he is. They'll never tell me." Her eyes burned with a dark light, "but they won't have to."_

_Erin moved on quickly. He shook his head, "Helping them turns me rogue. Anyone that knew Jace is on thin ice." Lucy's words echoed in his head, "But I have to. They shouldn't-What is that doing here?" Jace's backpack sat on Erin's bed right in front of the window. Erin cast a spell that created an illusionary copy of what had happened while he had been away using the magical residue left behind by any spells. His eyes widened. An illusion of Jace crouched in his window as Erin closed the door to leave for the assembly. Jace wrote a quick note and stuffed it in the backpack before leaving it on the bed. _

_Erin opened the backpack and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper._

_'Hey Erin. I'm not going to bother explaining myself to you since you'll probably want my head like everybody else but can you help them out. I don't want them to pay for my mistakes but I can't help them without getting them in more trouble. You're the only person I really trust to do this. If not I understand too. -Jace.'_

_Erin knew instantly who Jace was talking about, "What?"_

Orriyon gasped and blinked. The images were gone. They had been so detailed it was like she had been standing right next to Erin. The grassy hills outside the city filled her vision. She glanced at where Lucy was bugging Erin about something. Jace sat against a tree reading a book.

"Hey Jace," Lucy walked up to him.

Jace didn't look up, "Yeah?"

"You were really distracted at school today. It was like you were having a conversation with yourself," Lucy said.

Orriyon noticed Jace stiffen, "I was just tired and thinking about something."

"That was a lie," Vadanya whispered.

Orriyon shrugged.

Erin glanced at him, "Alright?" He obviously wasn't convinced.

"Are you going to try to sneak into the restricted part of the library?" Lucy asked. She was just innocently curious.

"Sneak into where?" Kylle was suddenly behind them.

Jace rolled his eyes, "If you're going to eavesdrop try paying attention to the entire conversation. She asked if I was planning on trying to get into a restricted part of the school library because I'm always sitting near it. The answer is no because I'm not an idiot."

Orriyon sighed. _Except for the fact that Jace doesn't see the idea as stupid nor does he bother looking ahead to the consequences should he be caught. He just goes to great lengths to avoid being caught._

"Leave you four," Kylle motioned to Erin, Lucy, Vadanya and Orriyon.

Jordyn glared at Kylle, "You don't have to say it like it's an order."

"It is an order," Kylle stated.

Jordyn's eyes narrowed, "And ordering us around isn't necessary."

Jace cringed when he heard a snicker above him. He glared into the tree. _Be quiet! If they find out you're here I'm dead and you're screwed._

The redhead in the tree stuck her tongue out at him. _Relax. I'm not an idiot._ She put her chin on her arms and watched Kylle with a dark look on her face. _He's quiet the...person._

Jace rolled his eyes.

"Jace this is going to test whether or not your ready for real combat," Kylle's voice was harder than steel as he spoke.

Jace looked at him defiantly, "And if I'm not?"

"Then I will be monitering your training from this point on and you will not like it," Kylle responded.

Jace sighed and looked at the book that was still open in his lap, "And if I don't want to be tested?"

"You are and you will perform to the best of your ability," Kylle's tone invited no argument.

"That's not a good enough answer," Jace got to his feet, "I don't want to."

_Ouch. Jeez. Just throw it in his face._ Phoenix snickered.

Jace gritted his teeth. _You've already almost gotten me in trouble at school. Can you not?_

_Oh come on. Sitting on a cactus would hurt!_ She winked at him.

Jace rolled his eyes.

"You aren't even listening are you?" Kylle asked, "You know I hate repeating myself."

"You hate a lot of things," Jace snapped.

Kylle's eyes narrowed, "You'll fight your brother and if I think you're ready after watching that I will be your next opponent."

Jace sneered, "And what am I allowed to do during this battle?"

Kylle looked at him silently for a second, "Anything you see as necessary for the battle."

Jace smirked, "Alright."

All Kylle did while Jace fought Jordyn was criticize. Jordyn could tell his brother was getting frustrated. He also knew that what Kylle wanted more than anything was to be able to take over Jace's training and make his little brother's life more of a hell than it already was. He was going to do whatever it took to keep that from happening. Even if that meant dumbing his skills down, though he doubted it was necessary. Jace was now a better arrcher than Conner. He had learned to augment his sight so he could hit a target that Jordyn could barely see. He had also learned to augment his speed so he could dodge a melee attack easily and get out of the way before his opponent knew what had happened. And then there were the myriad of illusions he could create that made fighting Jace a little more than frustrating. He made it a puzzle. Jordyn knew him well enough to get the "answer" to said puzzle but he doubted Kylle had what it took to get past the illusions.

"That's enough." Kylle drew it to a close. He turned to Jace with a satisfied look that he failed to hide under a blank stare, "You're not good enough."

Jace's eyes burned with the dark light of hatred as he glared at Kylle. Without a word he stormed off.

"Did you forget what happened last time?" Kylle asked.

"Shut up," Jace hissed. He continued walking.

Jordyn and Jarvis exchanged glances. Conner's eyes burned with anger, "He was perfectly good."

Jordyn noticed a small shadow slide down the tree and flit after his brother. His eyes narrowed.

"Don't worry about him," Jarvis shook his head. He shot Jordyn a knowing wink.

Jordyn sighed, "Alright."

Jace flopped onto the ground and let his legs swing over the cliff edge. _'You're not good enough' Sure I'm good enough. You just don't like me and would want nothing more than to ruin everything._ He sighed when he sensed Phoenix nearby, "What do you want?"

"Oh so you knew I was coming," she shrugged and sat down next to him. She sounded more curious than accusatory. "I don't understand. Why does Kylle always have you fight your brother and then criticize you? He's never faced you. It doesn't make sense to me that he would do that."

"I don't know," Jace shrugged. _How the hell do you expect me to know? _He grabbed a rock and dropped it. He watched it tumble down the cliff into the raging waters below. "He's just a jerk."

She didn't seem satisfied with his response, "Well yeah. I managed to gather that much."

"He's hated me for as long as he's known me," he muttered. _Of course I've hated him for as long as he's known me._

"And I'm going to assume you hate him because of that," Phoenix guessed.

Jace rolled his eyes, "If you had to put up with him everyday wouldn't you?"

"Alright," she shrugged, "I won't pry then." She stood up and brushed the dust off her black clothes to the best of her ability. "I'm just going to say one more thing. A friend of mine once told me to look on the positive side of life. 'Maybe then the weight of the world will be lifted off your shoulders' or the weight of multiple depending on how you want to see it." She smirked at him. Her eyes glowed knowingly.

Jace looked up at her, "What?" _Is she a planeswalker? Well you don't have to be one to know about other worlds. I'm proof of that much. But then again she just appeared out of nowhere. _He cocked his head to the side.

She started walking away.

"Hey! Wait," Jace got to his feet and started to follow her.

"Don't you have something to prove to someone?" Phoenix asked.

He stopped and blinked in confusion. _I do? _"Oh! But what am I supposed to do?" _It's not like I can beat Kylle. Well...maybe. I might be able to but if I do then he'll just hate me more. Of course that's not really a problem I guess._

"You figure it out," she disappeared in a pillar of flames.

"Hey!" Jace sighed. He noticed Jordyn walking towards him. His brother shook his head, "How'd I know I'd find you here?" his gaze darkened, "Kylle wants to talk to you."

"Oh great." Jace's eyes narrowed, "Tell him that if he wants to test me so bad he can fight me himself."

Jordyn smirked, "Alright."

The two of them walked back.

"Jace said that you can fight him," Jordyn said simply.

"He's obviously not at my skill level yet," was Kylle's response.

Jace glared at him through narrowed eyes, "Try me." _You've never faced me. I don't enjoy fighting but just this once I'm going to fight to the best of my ability. _Jace felt oddly calm. He didn't really care how this fight turned out. He was almost positive he wasn't going to lose. Kylle was big about exaggeration and he didn't doubt he exaggerated his fighting ability. He smirked. _After all you don't deserve any less, do you Kylle?_

_Just don't destroy anything._ Phoenix's voice rang in his head. _That'd be bad since I'm currently sitting in a tree. _

_I couldn't destroy anything if I tried. _Jace rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he was having to reassure her. _The best I can do is illusions._

_Good. I don't plan on being splattered underneath a tree. That'd suck._

Jace bit his tongue to keep from laughing. _Or maybe she's just trying to get me in trouble. _He shook his head. _You're going to get me in trouble._

_Well I haven't yet and I'm not changing so there._ Jace didn't look at her but could definitely picture her sticking her tongue out at him mockingly. _Another thing. Kick his ass._

Jace nodded. _I'm not sure how well that's going to go down but whatever. As long as I don't lose it doesn't matter._

"Very well, if he wishes to humiliate himself then so be it." Kylle shot forward blade first.


	23. Chapter 23

Jace hissed through gritted teeth. _Oh well. I won't lose._ He ducked under Kylle's swung sword. He remembered on of the first spells he had been taught. It was used to attach a weapon permanently to the casters hand no matter where it was actually located. Jace darted to the side and imagined a symbol on his hand. He pictured a line of runes on the bow Conner was letting him use. He created four illusions of himself and turned invisible. He cast all the augmentation spells he knew.

Kylle stopped dead and growled.

Jace almost laughed. _How dumb. He can't even tell where I am from where I used to be. I knew at least some of it was all talk. However I'm almost willing to bet that not all of it is talk._ He felt the bow solidify in his hand. He closed his fist around it and the illusions scattered. He watched Kylle fight through them until all four had dissippated. Jace spent that entire time drawing as much mana as he could. He teleported behind Kylle and shot three arrows from three angels.

Kylle sliced one out of the air and blocked the other two with his shield.

Jace cursed under his breath. His invisibility fell and Kylle charged at him, shield first. Jace waited till the last second to slide sideways. He fired off three arrows at close range. One hit Kylle in the leg the other two were blocked by the shield. Jace cursed under his breath. That shield was really getting in his way. He looked into Kylle's mind so he'd know the city guard captain's next moves before he made them. The intrusion would not be appreciated but Jace did not care. He barely managed to avoid Kylle's sword but couldn't get out of the way of Kylle's shield in time. Instead he used it as a platform and flipped. He cast the spell that gave him wings. He shot three arrows. All three slid past the top of the shield to imbed themselves in Kylle's armor. Jace landed, skidding backwards. He felt a sharp pain in the left side of his chest but ignored it. He slid around to Kylle's sword arm side and ducked under the sword slash. He shot two more arrows.

Suddenly gold and white flames erupted between them. Jace put up a magical shield and stepped back. He saw Kylle put his shield between him and the magical flames. He turned to look at the caster. Jarvis was on his feet walking towards them. White and gold flames flicked around his feet with every step he took, "Alright. We're done."

"This isn't done until I say it is," Kylle snapped harshly.

Jace rolled his eyes. _Good luck with that. Jarvis could turn you to a pile of ash and molten metal._

Flames sparked in Jarvis' pupils as his eyes narrowed, "I said we're done. The goal of this wasn't to kill each other and that's exactly where this is headed."

Jace let his spells fall away and set the bow on the ground. He began to stalk angrily away. _I'm just gonna go cool my head for a little bit._

"You were told to learn swords," Kylle snarled at his back.

Jace froze. He gritted his teeth. His blood still boiled with more than the heat of battle. He glared darkly at Kylle over his shoulder, "I was told to learn weapons. The type was not specified."

Jordyn's eyes widened. His brother's eyes had an angry kind of anti-glow to them. They seemed to absorb the light of the sun as it struck them. They had turned from the pretty light sapphire they normally were to a blue so dark they were almost black.

"Archery won't help you in melee combat," Kylle snapped.

Jace turned to face him completely. Jordyn saw hatred budding in his brother's gaze, "Piss off." He turned and stalked away. Kylle opened his mouth but before he could say anything Jace cast a simple spell and he shot towards the city. Jace was still seething by the time he got back to the house. Lucy and Erin were playing with Vadanya and Orriyon.

"Hey Jace!" Lucy grinned. Her grin quickly faded when he looked at her.

Jace took a deep not so steadying breath, "Yeah?" He tried to keep his overbearing anger out of his voice but didn't mask it very well.

"Come play," Orriyon invited.

Jace shook his head, "I'm good." _I'm not going to get them in trouble._ He walked into the house, ignoring the dark look Vadanya gave him. He really didn't have any patience left in him at the moment.

"Jace, play with your sisters," his mother ordered.

Jace looked at her for a moment. The anger had started to fade but it spiked back up within him, "Why should I?"

"Because you never spend time with them," his mother shrugged. _Unlike Jordyn. Even your friends from school spend more time with them than you do._

Jace hissed through gritted teeth, "Piss off." He stalked up the stairs to his room. He opened the door to Phoenix sitting on his bed. His eyes widened. He closed the door quickly. _I'm not angry with her. I'm not angry with her. I'm not angry with her._ "How'd you get in here?!"

"You left the window open," she shrugged indifferently.

Jace glanced at the window then looked back at her, "If you stay here you will get me in trouble." He paused, "And would you get off my bed?"

"Oh relax," she slid off his bed and stood in front of him. Jace could just see over her head if he looked straight ahead. "You aren't going to get in trouble. I only stopped by to say good job."

"Good job?" Jace asked. His anger was melting away. He was honestly glad for the distraction the redhead was providing. Otherwise he probably would have been angry for the rest of the day and he wasn't sure he liked that kind of anger, "For what?"

"Kicking his ass," she smirked.

"You're actually encouraging that?" Jace stared at her, "I thought your job was to-"

"Oh shut up!" Phoenix snapped. Her orange eyes glowed with an inner light, "It doesn't matter what my job is! I'll do what I want and I'm telling you good job for kicking his ass!"

"Alright fine." Jace sighed, "Can you please leave now so I don't get in trouble?"

"Sure," she rolled her eyes, "since you asked so nicely." She slid out his window and back flipped onto the roof.

Jace sighed and flopped onto his bed, "I'm dead once I go down stairs."

"Is Jace okay?" Lucy asked worriedly.

"I'm sure he's fine," Vadanya nodded. Her voice was cold and held the slightest hint of sarcasm.

"He'll be fine," Orriyon pointed to the roof where a redheaded girl appeared to be asleep.

"Who's she?" Erin asked.

Orriyon shrugged, "I don't know."

Vadanya sighed, "She's just been sleeping on our roof for a while now."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked, "And your parents don't care?"

"I don't think they even know she exists," Vadanya said simply.

Erin watched her carefully, "She's a fire mage. But there's something off about her magic. It's like that's not all that she can do but that's all I'm getting."

Orriyon looked back up at the redhead and shrugged, "That's alright. She hasn't caused any problems for us."

"Yet," Lucy muttered.

"Not all fire mages are bad," Orriyon insisted.

Lucy sighed, "I guess your right."

Orriyon sighed and closed her eyes. _Silver clouds of black intention hover above the sky. When the rain falls the true rogue reveals their place in war. _She forced her eyes to open slowly so it looked like nothing was wrong.

Vadanya was sitting next to her still playing with Lucy. Erin was heading home having more than likely just said his goodbyes. Vadanya knew Erin was worried about Jace going rogue. After seeing him today she was just as worried. _'There's two ways this can play out. Either way Jace is gone.' _Her sister's words rang in her head. _Will Jace go rogue?_ His eyes had been extremely dark. The bright sapphire his eyes normally were had been extremely dark with anger and hatred. He had spoken to them through gritted teeth and yelled at their mother. Not that Vadanya thought she didn't deserve to be yelled at but it was too out of character for him. _There's something wrong. There's definitely something wrong. If Jace does go rogue then Kylle will take great pleasure in hunting him down._ Vadanya looked at her sister, "You don't think Kylle's trying to _push Jace into_ going rogue do you?"

Orriyon stared at her hands, "Well...I..."

"You do?!" Lucy stared at her.

"I..." Orriyon hesitated a moment longer, "I'm not sure. I don't know Kylle's intentions.

Vadanya looked around as she felt icy cold eyes staring at her. She turned to see the intense orange gaze of the fire mage that slept on their roof. She was listening to their conversation intently. Her eyes had an odd look in them. A inner glow illuminated them in the setting sun. Vadanya looked away quickly. The gaze unnerved her for some reason.

"I know that the near future is very dark and turbulous. Then there's a moment of peace and then a deeper darkness. I don't think it's Kylle that's pushing him to go rogue but someone definitely wants that outcome," Orriyon stopped talking suddenly and stared at the ground. _He wants that outcome. Truly going rogue leads down a dark path of death and blood. I can see that outcome drawing nearer but even so the other path is still an option._ She looked up at the sky, "I hope we know what we're doing."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"The future's so dark," Orriyon continued to gaze at the stars, "I hope we know what we're doing."


	24. Chapter 24

Jace put his hands behind his head and watched the moth fly around dully. His anger had melted back to the general dissatisfaction that he usually felt about life. He knew where the anger and hatred came from but it bothered him. He sat up and decided to think about something else. He remembered how Phoenix had managed to get into the restricted part of the library.

_Jace sat down in front of the gate that separated the restricted part of the library from the rest of it. _I'm probably not even getting paid for this waste of time. _Phoenix's voice rang in his head._

Why would you be getting paid? _Jace asked curiously. He was technically using magic when he shouldn't be but he didn't really care. He had long since decided that the rules here didn't apply to him. Besides as long as he wasn't caught, which he never was now that none of the teachers here could read him, it was all good. _

Shut up! _Though the words echoed in his head he could definitely feel her glare at the back of his head. He rolled his eyes. Luckily he was staring at a book with his head lowered so his two friends wouldn't see his reactions to what she said. _What are you doing here anyway?

Like you care. _Phoenix herself was looking at a book. More like filling in information that she knew because she apparently knew more than the book did._

_Jace sighed. _I was just curious. You don't have to be so mean about it. _He glanced at Lucy so that she'd think he was paying attention to her. He knew he had promised to spend more time with the brunette but she had a habit of going on and on about nothing at all. That tendency really grated on his nerves. Then there was her kind of creepy obsession with him that he really didn't like. Wherever he went she was there unless she was spending time with Vadanya and Orriyon and it bugged him._

Don't go getting all butt hurt. _Phoenix snapped. She cocked her head to the side, "This is so weird. It's kind of hard to snap at someone when it's just my thougyhts."_

_Jace nodded to Lucy and glanced at the redhead over his shoulder. _Trust me. Your attitude comes off loud and clear. _He felt her glare burning into the back of his head again. _Oh can it! I don't care how much you can sense my attitude!

_Jace cocked his head to the side. _Out of curiosity how quickly can your moods change? You seem to just switch on whim. _He expected a harsh reply and was not disappointed. _

Like you care and it'd be nice if you could not comment on my mood you heartless piece of...I can't come up with anything good. Damn. _Jace surpressed a laugh at her comment. She was kind of fun to bug. Maybe that was because it was so easy but he didn't really care. She was probably the only person he knew that could get under his skin and had just as much fun doing it as he did getting under hers. _You're trying to insult me?

No I'm calling you names. There's a difference. Phoenix_ smirked. _

I don't see it. _Jace shook his head._

_"You don't think so?" Lucy asked._

_"That's not what I meant," Jace said quickly, "I was just shaking my head at the oddity of it."_

_"Oh okay," Lucy nodded._

_Erin was not nearly as satisfied with Jace's answer but accepted it as the best he was going to get._

Of course there's a difference. Insulting someone implies that you're trying to be mean and hurt their feelings. _Phoenix's voice rang in a matter of fact way in his head. _Calling someone names is something else entirely. People create nicknames for each other don't they.

_Jace glanced at her over his shoulder. _I guess yeah. _He resisted the urge to shake his head again. Her logic was definitely not the easiest to follow._

There's your difference right there. _She sounded satisfied with her explanation. Jace had the feeling that she could win any argument just because she'd be able to completely confuse whoever she was arguing with. _I don't see how calling me a heartless piece of something isn't being mean. _Jace knew he was just being difficult but he also knew she'd come up with something to respond to him with even if it was a book to the back of the head later. _

I call everyone a heartless piece of whatever comes to mind when they annoy me so for me it's not being mean. If I call you your name and I'm angry then you've really screwed up.

_Jace nodded. _Good to know. _He redirected his thoughts towards her. _Okay then. Why are you here?

Because no one cares that I am. _Jace could tell that was all the reason she needed but felt like it went deeper than that. _You aren't a student which is how I'm going to assume you got in there.

And? _Phoenix asked. It sounded like she didn't see his point. Or she was just being difficult. Since he was being difficult just a moment before he decided to humor her. _So then why are you here? There has to be a reason other than you can because no one cares that you are. I'm sure that plenty of the teachers will care.

_Phoenix chuckled. _The librarian doesn't so whatever. The other teachers can eat dirt and sit on cacti for all I care.

_Jace found himself cocking his head to the side as he contemplated what she just said. Luckily Lucy had just asked a question in her endless ramblings so he didn't have to cover the movement up. _That sounds...painful.

I certainly wouldn't want to sit on a cactus that's for sure. _Phoenix sounded smug._

_Jace bit his lip and choked back a laugh. He coughed to cover it up from Lucy and Erin._

_"Are you alright?" Lucy asked almost instantly._

_"Yep," Jace nodded. _You're going to get me into trouble.

_Phoenix sighed. _How would I get you in trouble if I'm not even connected to you in any way? It's not like you opened the gates for me. I got here of my own free will.

_Now Jace was positive she was just being difficult. He could hear it in her tone. He shook his head. _I'm not actually allowed to use magic ouside of a set period of time in a specific place so if I start laughing at nothing they're going to assume I'm using magic. Nothing I say will change their minds because I'm a telepath.

Oh. Well that makes sense._ Phoenix finished with her book and put it away. _I'm leaving now. See ya.

How? _Jace looked at her over his shoulder._

There's a stair case that leads to the roof of the building in the very back. _Phoenix told him._

_Jace's interest was piqued almost instantaneously. _Is is protected by any spells?

A simple alarm spell but getting through doesn't take much. A small disabling spell should be able to do the trick. _Phoenix shot him a knowing look that Jace ignored._

Thanks._ Jace turned away from her._

Have fun. _The redhead's presence disappeared from the building as she shot away._

_Jace turned back to the conversation Erin and Lucy were having._

Jace smiled, "Well I know what I'm doing tonight." He glanced out his window. It was still open but the moth hadn't left. It's glow illuminated the entire room in a soft light. He had decided that he no longer cared what Kylle or his mother thought about the moth. It stayed with him so technically he wasn't keeping it captive. He ignored his mother's call for dinner and stared at the ceiling. _Once they're all in bed I'll go investigate that stair case. I don't understand why it would be there. It doesn't make any sense. unless they had another reason for it being there. _His eyes narrowed, "Why would there be a stair case leading to the roof in the back of the restricted part of the library?"


	25. Chapter 25

Jace stopped at the base of the wall of the library building. The wall was sheer and would take him all night to climb and that was if he didn't fall and break his neck in the process of climbing. _My wings only let me glide._ He stepped back until he could clearly see the roof of the building. Once he could clearly see it he teleported to the top.

Phoenix waited for him, sitting against the doorway, "It's through here." She waved her hand in the doorway's direction, "There's a set of stairs leading down into the back and once you make the spell recognize you as being allowed through you won't have to do it again."

Jace narrowed his eyes, "They update the enchantments."

"They copy the enchantments," Phoenix corrected him in a slightly superior tone, "If you convince the enchantment that you're allowed to go through it then you won't have to do it another time."

"So that's how you really got in there," Jace nodded to himself. _That's how she got in. But she's also not a student here. It's probably designed to be a pain in the ass to get through if you're a student. Of course maybe not but still._

Phoenix bit her finger hard enough to make it bleed and let the blood drip onto the doorway, "By the passing of blood let me enter." The enchantment flickered and rewrote itself. She turned to Jace, "Do it like that."

_That is slightly disturbing. How'd she know to do that though? _Jace copied her, wincing as pain shot through his hand, "By the passing of blood let me enter."

The enchantment again rewrote itself. Jace waved his hand past the entrance. Nothing happened. He grinned excitedly.

"So that's that," Phoenix shrugged, "However, Thursday nights the teachers are always organizing that part of the library so we should probably go now."

"But-"

"Hey, is someone there?"

Jace's eyes widened. He recognized the law mage by his voice. _Oh shit! She wasn't being a pain in my ass!_

"Now!" Phoenix shoved him towards the edge of the roof.

Jace followed her to the edge. She leaped and landed with a thud in a crouch. She rose and took off across the courtyard. Jace paused to create his wings because he wasn't positive he could land that drop as smoothly and easily as she did. He augmented his speed and followed her.

"Let's be a bit more careful next time," she snapped when he caught up, "I don't think the consequences of being caught would be pleasant."

Jace nodded, "Okay." _That was close. Note to self Phoenix is usually right with things like that. I'm surprised at how much she knows about that place. How does she know all that stuff? How did she know they organized every Thursday?_ The two of them walked back to the hills outside the city in silence for a bit. Jace looked at her and cocked his head to the side, "You're fast."

"And?" Phoenix asked.

Jace shrugged indifferently, "Nothing really."

Phoenix rolled her eyes, "You are so...annoying."

Jace glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "Then why are you here?"

She stuck her tongue out at him in response.

Jace nodded knowingly, "Yeah, alright." He shook his head. _I don't know why she doesn't just tell me. I mean I know she's here to keep me out of trouble. Oh well. I've definitely learned by now that digging doesn't really work with her._ He rolled his eyes.

"You little shit," Phoenix snapped.

Jace looked at her in surprise, "That one's new. How many 'names' do you create for people?" _They still sound like insults to me but I've decided to drop that particular conversation. _

"Depends on how annoying you are," Phoenix shrugged.

"Seriously?" Jace asked.

Phoenix nodded, "Got a problem?"

"So...I must be really annoying," Jace smirked, "About as annoying as you are?" _Annoying her is so much fun. Of course she's just as annoying but I guess that comes with the territory._

"I hate you," Phoenix snapped, "You are so infuriating."

"Yeah? Good to know." Jace laughed. _I'm infuriating huh? Wow. _He shook his head.

Phoenix sighed, "You've convinced the enchantment that it knows you so yeah. Just avoid Thursdays and you'll be fine."

"Avoid Thursdays?" Jace cocked his head to the side. _Well. I definitely could avoid Thursdays. That'd make the possibility of getting caught much smaller but it also makes it boring. I could just turn invisible but I'm not sure how long I can hold that spell. Especially if I get distracted. _

"Or just turn invisible and make sure none of the teachers see a randomly floating book in the air," Phoenix shrugged.

"Yeah," Jace nodded. Suddenly a dark presence seemed to press down on him, almost suffocating him. He heard Phoenix turning as though looking for something. For a moment his vision went black and all he could see was darkness.

Phoenix hissed through gritted teeth.

"You too huh?" he whispered.

"Yeah. It's nasty."

He sighed in silent relief as his vision cleared and the presence faded.

Phoenix snarled softly, "Jace. Go home."

"But-"

"Now." Her tone invited no further argument.

Jace's eyes widened. _She's not kidding around. I hope she doesn't take long._ He augmented his speed and darted home. He climbed into his room and stared at the ceiling. _I wonder what that was. It was dark sure but there was something else about it. There's was something more about it. A deeper purpose. A single corruptive purpose. _He shuddered, "I wonder if we were the only ones to feel it?"

The next morning Jace climbed onto his roof before going to school. Phoenix was curled up asleep just above his room. He nodded and slid down and landed on the ground. He walked slowly to school. It wouldn't start for a little while but that was alright. The moment he walked through the gates into the courtyard he was approached by Derek. Jace sighed. _Dammit. I really didn't want to talk to you today._ "What now?"

"I've been wondering," Derek sneered, "What exactly do you do when you're not at school?"

Jace's eyes widened. _He saw me last night. Crap! I could just clear that from his memory. But I've never tried to do that before. _He rolled his eyes, "Why do you care?"

"Who's that pretty little redhead?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" Jace repeated.

"Maybe cause she's cute?" Derek smirked.

_He's trying to get a reaction out of me by...complimenting Phoenix? That doesn't make any sense at all. _Jace shook his head and rolled his eyes, "If you think she's cute that's you. I don't see what it has to do with me." He pushed past Derek and met Erin and Lucy in the courtyard.

"You're here early!" Lucy squealed in surprise.

"Yeah," Jace shrugged, "I didn't feeling like staying home as long as usual this morning."

"Is something wrong?" Erin asked.

"No," Jace shook his head. _Nothing's wrong. Not with me anyway. Usually Phoenix is up before I even bother leaving my room. Why's she asleep this morning? Did something happen last night that I missed? I can't read her mind so I doubt I'll get an answer to that._ The morning rolled by slowly and Jace still couldn't tell where Phoenix was. That meant he had to sit through class without something to keep his mind off of how absolutely boring it was to listen to a teacher drone on and on about nothing he cared about. He had already long since read books on and memorized the subjects the teacher was droning on about. Clouds moved in accompanied by a cold wind. Eventually the wind died but the clouds remained. Jace looked at the clock tower in the center of the courtyard. He couldn't believe he had allowed Lucy and Erin to talk him into spending their free time outside today. If it started raining it would get really gross really fast. Jace was not the biggest fan of being wet and he certainly didn't like walking through mud.

Derek approached him again, "Hey Berelen!"

Jace hissed under his breath, "I hate being called that."

"Relax," Erin sighed, "He only does it because he knows you hate it."

Jace knew Erin was right. He got to his feet and walked up to Derek, "What do you want?"

"I want you to introduce me to your redheaded friend," Derek shrugged.

"I wouldn't exactly call her my friend," Jace rolled his eyes.

"Then what is she?"

"I barely know her," Jace resisted the urge to laugh at how petty the fire mage was being. _That'll only get me burned at best. _

"Then why'd I see you leaping off the roof after her last night?" Derek asked.

Jace gave the fire mage a very dull look, "I have no idea what you're talking about." He knew Derek hated it when he acted superior and doing so often started a fight but Jace didn't particularly care in that moment.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about huh?" Derek snarled, "Maybe I should jog your memory." Jace dodged a streak of flames. His eyes widened as he saw they were headed straight for Lucy. _Damn! _A shadow slid between the flames and the brunette just before they would have hit her. Jace saw Lucy stumble backwards. In between Lucy and the flames was none other than Phoenix.

Derek stared at the redhead in shock.

Jace cringed and stepped back. _Uh-oh. What are you doing?_ He was slightly afraid of her answer. If the school figured out that she was connected to him they'd both be more than dead.

_Helping your friend._ Phoenix smirked confidently and looked dead at Derek, "Is that the best you can do? Those flames didn't even burn."

Jace stared at her with wide eyes. _Are you starting a fight?_

_Maybe. What of it?_

_That's it. I'm dead. _Jace shook his head but didn't bother arguing with her. _I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm beyond dead. When the teachers show up I'm going to be charbroiled and roasted in my own juices. I'm dead._

"I'm the most powerful fire mage at this school," Derek hissed.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?" She put her hands on her hips, "Those didn't even tickle."

_A moment ago she said they didn't even burn. Is she just playing bravado?_ Jace looked her over carefully. It was true. There wasn't a single burn on her so he believed they didn't burn her. Saying they didn't tickle was probably a stretch.

"You absorbed them," Erin realized.

Jace glanced at him. _Absorbed flames? I thought that wasn't even possible. _

"No one can do that," Derek pointed at her and a snake of flames shot out at the redhead.

Jace noticed a crowd gathering around them. Everyone gasped, turning his attention back to Phoenix. Her eyes glowed brightly with an inner light and the tips of her hair erupted into flames. Derek's fire snake had it's fangs imbedded into the skin at her neck.

Suddenly Derek didn't seem very interested in meeting her anymore. His face was twisted in fear and horror, "You monster!"

Jace flinched. Phoenix definitely looked terrifying like that but maybe monster was a little too far.

"You want to see a monster?" Phoenix's eyes narrowed and flames leaped to life at her feet, "Cause I can show you the power of a monster."

Jace's eyes widened. _Don't! STOP! You're going to get in so much trouble! You're going to kill someone!_ He bit his lower lip and began to ease away from the confrontation. _I don't want to be caught in the blast radius when she explodes. _

"What's going on here?!" the law mage stalked through the crowd.

Phoenix's flames died and she turned to face the teacher calmly, "Hi."

_WHAT?!_ Jace looked from her to the teacher and back again. _How in the-how is she so calm?_

"You're not a student," the law mage looked her over callously.

_It'd be nice if you could not scream in my head. _Phoenix shook her head, "Nope."

_Sorry. _Jace bit his lower lip and tasted blood in his mouth. _Damn. I made myself bleed. _He glanced at his finger and saw a nice scab where he had bitten himself there. _If I keep this up I'll be covered in scabs. I don't think the lips scab like the rest of the body though. _

Jace had missed what the law mage had said. "Maybe cause I can do this?" Phoenix reactivated her flames and gave the teacher a challenging look.

"So you're a mage. How are you not enrolled here?"

"I didn't want to be and I'll be leaving tonight so I'm not going to bother." She looked up at one of the most terrifying teachers of the school contemptuously, "Anyway, as for your first question, that guy threw flames at that guy and that guy dodged and it was gonna hit her so, being a fire mage myself, I stepped between that girl and the flames and then he decided to start a fight so I intimidated the hell out of him and then you showed up and then we had this conversation and I will now be leaving." She spoke very quickly, fast enough Jace was surprised that the law mage managed to catch up with her. She motioned to each of them as the spoke and Jace was definitely glad that she implied that she didn't know anyone's names.

_Was that all one sentence? _

_Yes. _Phoenix started to walk away.

"Wait a moment," the law mage insisted.

"Sorry, I've got places to be," Phoenix didn't bother with looking at him.

Jace swallowed nervously. _You're already digging yourself a hole. Don't dig any deeper, Phoenix._ He sighed. _Who am I kidding? She doesn't care that she's digging herself ever deeper into a hole._

"And I certainly am not going to waste anymore time on you numbskulls." Jace saw her wink at Lucy as she passed her but was pretty sure he was the only other person that saw it.

"What is the real reason you are here?"

Jace cringed and ducked into the crowd. If his teacher found out this had started with him getting into another fight he'd be more than dead. He heard Phoenix say she was chaos incarnate but couldn't see what was going on anymore. He looked at the people he was hiding amongst in amusement. Derek's biggest followers stood around him but they were too busy watching Phoenix to notice him among them. Jace took the opportunity to slip away. Jordyn would no doubt be coming soon. Jace made it to the outside of crowd and hurried to the outskirts of the courtyard. He scaled the wall and saw Phoenix storming away from the confrontation. He could definitely tell that she was pissed. He could feel it almost as though it was his own rage. Jace shook his head and dropped down to the ground on the other side of the wall.


	26. Chapter 26

"Hey Jace," Jordyn smiled as his younger brother met him halfway to the school.

Jace looked at him expectantly, "What?"

"Conner's busy today so you Jarvis and I are going to work on your sword skills," Jordyn explained.

"Why? I suck at swords."

Jordyn looked at Jace in surprise, "You don't suck. You can use two weapons better than anyone  
I know."

"Yeah whatever. I can't use one sword." Jace knew Jordyn was lying to him to try and make him feel better. He couldn't use swords at all. He was better at two than one but he was best at small blades. Those required getting too close for comfort.

"Whoever said you had to?" Jordyn asked.

"If I get disarmed I'll be completely useless," Jace shrugged.

"That's what your spells are for, Jace," Jordyn sighed. _This kid is such a perfectionist. He's the only one that thinks he sucks at swords._

Jace rolled his eyes, "I'm not a perfectionist."

"Yes you are," Jordyn nodded.

Jace decided not to continue the argument. Today had already been exciting enough.

"What's up?" Jarvis asked as they walked up.

Jordyn shrugged, "Nothing with me."

Jace shrugged and didn't meet the pink-ette's questioning gaze.

"Alright," Jarvis shrugged, "So I'm going to assume you're not excited."

Jace shrugged and continued to be silent.

Jordyn glanced at him, "What's wrong Jace?"

"Nothing," Jace shook his head. _I'm going to be more dead than ever. _

"Hey Jace!" Orriyon hurried up to him, "Can I talk to you?"

"Why?" Jace asked. He gave a resigned sighed and shrugged, "Never mind. Sure. What do want to talk about?"

"You," Orriyon said.

"Okay?" Jace was slightly annoyed and definitely regretting picking a fight today. Phoenix was still angry. He could feel her anger pricking at the back of his mind. He was just tired of everything and not in the mood to really interact with anyone at the moment. Jordyn's constant questioning if he was okay and the fact that they'd be working with blades was just the icing on the cake. "What about me?"

"You're an idiot," Vadanya snapped.

Jace rolled his eyes, "Good to know." _I wonder where Phoenix will go when she leaves. She did say she was leaving. Of course it's not above her to lie but I don't think that was a lie. _He suddenly realized he hadn't been listening to Vadanya at all. She knew he hadn't been listening. It was written all over her face, "Um..."

Vadanya sighed, "Whatever. Look, word spreads fast in this city so you're going to want to be careful." Her voice was tight with anger but she kept it polite.

Jace smirked. _So I've fallen so far in your eyes that you're only going to treat me with respect because it's polite? Oh well. I've known that much for a while now. It's not like they need me anyway. They're obviously fine. _He sighed and turned his gaze to the ground, "Alright I get it. Can you go away now?" _When I go back to school tomorrow I'm going to die. Derek'll probably be the first one to reach me. Then it'll be that law mage instructor. And if my teacher gets her hands on me I'm definitely done for. _Jace sighed as he watched his sisters walk away.

"That went well," Jarvis commented.

Jace gave him a slightly venomous look.

"Jace what's wrong?" Jordyn asked for the fiftieth time.

Jace glared at him, "Nothing! Jeez, how many times do I have to answer that question until you stop asking."

"I won't stop asking until you answer it honestly," Jordyn shot back.

Jarvis stepped between the brothers before they could go at each other's throats, "Alright. Let's look at it this way. Jace doesn't want to talk about it right now so continuous asking is only going to build resentment. However Jordyn knows that bottling everything up until you explode leads to trouble and catastrophe."

"Like I care," Jace muttered. He turned and started to walk away, "I don't feel like doing anything today." _I hate this place. I don't want to be here anymore. Even Jordyn's getting suffocating. I'm tired of all the teachers talking about how going rogue is a bad thing. I'm tired of being told to watch my emotions and I'm tired of being blamed for everything that ever goes wrong just because of what I am. I'm tired of it. I'm sick of it. I'm just done. _Jace found himself standing on the edge of a cliff. He sat down and let his legs swing. He watched the rocks his feet dislodged drop down into the river far below. By the time he got up the sun was going down. Instead of going in the front door he climbed up to his room. The moth welcomed him with a warm glow. Jace stared at it for a moment and then sat on his bed by the window. He pulled his knees up close to his chest and stared out the window for a while. He ignored his mother's irritated call for dinner and went up to the roof instead.

Phoenix was curled up, asleep again. Over the course of the evening the clouds had cleared and he could see the stars. Being careful not to wake the redhead he sat next to her and lifted his head to the sky. He had no intention of finding out what happened to those that woke the normally sarcastic and scathing fire mage up. His thoughts cleared and he realized that he was kind of hungry. He shrugged it off and promised himself he'd grab something once everyone was asleep. Phoenix stirred and rolled onto her back. She stretched and blinked away.

"You said you were leaving," Jace reminded her, "Are you really?" _I wonder where she's going. I wonder if she'll finally admit what her purpose here was. I wonder if I'm right about her being a planeswalker._

"Yep." she stuck out her tongue at him, "I'm leaving tonight or tomorrow." Suddenly her voice took on a very solemn tone, "Hey Jace?"

Jace looked at her in surprise. _That's definitely not a tone I've heard her use before. _"Yeah?"

"Will you promise me something?"

"Maybe," Jace's eyes narrowed, "What is it?"

She turned to face him. Her orange eyes studied him, "Will you promise me that no matter what happens in the future you'll hold your head high and live your own life?"

Jace blinked at her, "Why do you care?" _Why would how I live my life affect her?_

Phoenix smirked at him, "Cause I'm tired of babysitting."

"Babysitting?" he glared at her, "That's why you've been following me around this whole time." _Really? You could said something other than babysitting. That makes me sound five._

"That was my original reason but then I discovered how much fun it was to annoy you," Phoenix laughed.

Jace crossed his arms over his chest, "Whatever." His gaze returned to the sky.

"You never answered my question. Can you promise me that?"

_Is it really that important that I do?_ "Yeah," he nodded, "I don't really see why I wouldn't be able to."

"Trust me. Things get hard once you're on your own," he saw her eyes darken but she smiled, "Great! I'll be gone before tomorrow night then."

"Where are you going?" Jace asked. His curiosity was on the verge of overwhelming him. He was very tempted to look into her head but he was also very afraid of the consequences of doing so, especially so soon after his teacher had done so without invitation.

She shot him a look he couldn't quite read, "Elsewhere."

"More specifically," he urged. He found himself leaning forward expectantly.

She rolled her eyes and got to her feet. She turned to look at the stars, "I'm going to another world."

"I knew it! So you are a planeswalker!" Jace ignored the fact that he sounded like a little kid in a candy store, "Which one?"

"Haven't decided yet."

"How many are there?" He tried to keep his voice from squeaking like it had before.

"That's a question that's better for Jarvis."

"Well how many have you seen?"

"Not a lot honestly."

"How long ago did your spark ignite?" Jace continued to question her. It was all he could do just to ask the questions one at a time. He knew she'd probably tune him out if he just threw question after question at her without giving her a chance to respond or she'd get mad and hit him. With her he never knew what to expect.

"I swear. You question everything. My spark ignited when I was nine. I am now thirteen. Do the math."

"You're thirteen?" _You certainly act older than thirteen._

Phoenix hissed, "Yes. How old did you think I was?"

Jace smirked. _You walked into this one. _"Ten."

"You're just being difficult," Phoenix put her hands on her hips and glared down at him.

"And you know about Jarvis?" Jace ignored her comment and returned to asking questions.

She nodded, "And he knows about me."

"What's it like when a planeswalker spark ignites?" _That was a dumb question. It's different for each person._

"From what I've managed to figure out, even if you have one it won't ignite unless you're under a lot of emotional and mental stress," Phoenix looked at him and then looked away, "You know like being responsible for the deaths of your entire family. Or maybe you were being hunted for something you didn't do and you were found. Or maybe you're about to be executed for something. Stuff like that."

Jace stared at her. _Oh, okay. _"That's not...um..." He realized he probably seemed really naïve in that on moment.

"What you expected?" Phoenix finished for him. She sat back down next to him and stared at the sky. Her eyes were dark.

Jace swallowed nervously. _Maybe I accidentally touched on a sensitive subject._

"Being a planeswalker isn't all sunshine and rainbows. If people on the worlds know they could think of you as a monster or maybe they'll experiment on you to try and figure out what makes you what you are. The worlds are not particularly nice to people like that. Planeswalkers generally don't ally with each other unless something's bad. Not all of them are good and not all of them are nice."

Jace listened intently to what she said. He wasn't positive whether or not she was speaking to him or herself anymore but he still listened. His eyes widened as she continued.

"Sure there's freedom and the ability to see all these worlds but there's danger and secrets. Your very existence is a secret." She looked at him. Her eyes burned and her hair lit on fire, "If you were a normal mage and you didn't know me, what is the first word that would pop into your head when you saw me? I don't want you to try and think of something nice."

Jace swallowed, "Well..." _She said don't think of anything nice but I'm just kind of blank because I do know her. Well I know her a little bit._ "I don't know. I've known about planeswalkers for a long time and Jarvis was the first one I met. But you are kind of intimidating."

"Exactly," Jace barely caught her shrug and she looked away. He felt bad suddenly. _I probably shouldn't have asked what brought this up in the first place. _

"I hear monster a lot. I wasn't kidding when I said I was chaos incarnate. I have accidentally burned more things than I care to count and I've accidentally killed more people than I've known." Her gaze returned to him, "Wanting to be a planeswalker is fine. It's not all bad but you but you can't go into it thinking it's all good either of you will not survive your first planeswalk." She smirked, "There's a lot more freedom in the Multiverse. Yeah sure your existence has to be a secret but the other secrets you keep are up to you. There's not much that can stop you from just doing whatever and getting out of trouble is as easy as picturing another world in your head and willing yourself to go there. I wouldn't recommend planeswalking when you're under stress though. Then you could lose control of it and die."

Jace fought the urge to laugh and just shook his head instead, "Just the way you said that. 'You can lose control of it and die.' Wow."

"Hey," she punched him in the arm, "That is not what I sound like."

"Yes it is," he nodded.

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is," he looked at her. A challenge gleamed in his eyes.

She stuck her tongue out at him, "No it's not!"

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

"I'm leaving tomorrow so stay out of trouble," she rolled her eyes.

_Now I have no idea when you're leaving cause you've said like ten different time frames and some of them overlap._ Jace sighed.

"If you get in trouble I'll be sent back here and then I'll have to follow you around for the rest of her life." She got to her feet and put her hands on her hips. She leaned over him in a slightly menacing way. Her hair and eyes began to burn again, "And if that happens I will annoy you. I will never leave you alone and you will never hear the end of how annoying and dull you are." She straightened and patted the top of his head, "Kay?"

"What was the head pat for?" Jace got to his feet. If he looked straight ahead he could see over her head when they were on even ground. She was on a slightly higher part of the roof so she was a little taller. He was still taller than her though, "I am taller and older than you."

"And I'm the one that's been in charge of babysitting you," Phoenix smirked, "Your argument is invalid.

"It is not!" Jace insisted.

"Is."

"Is not!"

"Is."

"Is not!"

"Whatever." She crossed her arms over her chest.

Jace stuck his tongue out at her, "Hey, copy cat."

He got a challenging look in response, "Like you can talk."

He met her gaze silently for a moment, "Fine." He sat back down, "So you're leaving by tomorrow night." _Let's see if I can get a solid answer on when she's leaving._

"I think I've told you this," she definitely sounded annoyed.

"No you haven't," Jace shot her a challenging look.

"Are you really going to start that up again?" she sat next to him and punched his arm.

_Ow. _"That hurt," Jace did his best not to whine as he rubbed his arm, "and no."

"Really?" she rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

Jace couldn't help by snicker, "Yep."

She shook her head before looking at him curiously, "You're not going to go out of the city tonight?"

"Nah," Jace shook his head and laid down on his back. _I'm going to be so bored when she's gone. School's a lot more interesting with her smart ass comments. _"I'm not going to lie. School was very, very boring without your smart comments."

"Are you saying you're going to miss me being a pain in your ass?"

Jace stuck his tongue out at her, "You are the only person that can bug and insult me just as much as I can bug and insult you. Everybody else takes it personally or it's just awkward."

She rolled her eyes, "Well if you are a planeswalker and you can find me," she shot him a challenging look as she added that part, "then I can show you around."

"Really?" Jace was definitely surprised by that.

Phoenix gave him a flat look, "No I'm lying. What do you think? You know I wouldn't offer something unless I meant it."

"Yeah," he nodded, "I just didn't expect that from...anybody really."

"You'll have to find me first. I'll make it easy for you."

"That takes all the fun out of it," he looked at her dully, "If it's easy then it's boring."

"And if you never find me what's the point?" Phoenix shot back.

"Don't make it easy. Just make it...challenging, not impossible," Jace insisted. _I don't want it to be easy. It's no fun and I've definitely had my fill of boring._

"Fine," she handed him a glass flower petal. Within the petal gears turned and a blue light flashed on and off.

"What is this?"

"It's a tracker. If you do planeswalk I'll know where you are the moment you land," Phoenix explained slightly impatiently, "It was made by a friend of mine. Technically I was told to give it to you should I be called back for something more important than babysitting your sorry ass but I've decided that you're fine so I'm gonna go back now."

"Oh," Jace stuck in his pocket. _I'll find somewhere to put that later. Maybe I'll stick in the jar with the moth. Well no, then if I am a planeswalker and I leave on accident-and what if I'm not a planeswalker? What then? Then I'm stuck staying here._

"Oh and don't lose that," Phoenix added, "It's worth more money than you can imagine. It's made with reinforced glass designed to not shatter. It could probably be sold on any black market for a ton of money."

"Seriously? But it's so tiny. How am I-"

"Just don't," Phoenix interrupted, "put it on a chain or something?"

"A necklace?" The idea did not sound appealing. Jace didn't like stuff around his neck that much.

"Or a collar if that's what you prefer."

"I don't know. I wear this jacket all the time," Jace shrugged. _I really don't like the idea of collar. If I have to I'll put it on a chain and wear it as a necklace._

"You won't. Trust me."

"Alright. I'll make a necklace out of it," Jace promised. _Dammit. She's gonna hold me to that. _

"See ya!" Phoenix got to her feet.

"Wait! You're leaving now?" he asked. _I thought you said you were leaving...you never exactly specified when you were leaving but still. You gave a time frame that's longer than now._

"What?"

"I don't know. I just thought you'd stay longer," he shrugged. _Ugh! School's going to be so boring. Erin and Lucy are not very good at...conversating. Lucy doesn't shut up and Erin doesn't talk. It makes things difficult. _

"No. You've got that thing so I can find you when you get in trouble and you've made me a promise to live your own life. That's all I really need." She smirked, "It's not the end of the world. See you later." She jumped off the roof and slunk through the alleys towards the edge of the city.

Jace watched her disappear. He bit his lip, "I'm going to get in so much trouble tomorrow because of you."


	27. Chapter 27

Jace let his chin rest on his fist and stared dully at the wall. Three days had passed since Phoenix had left and he was bored. School had been a lot more interesting with her almost constant commentary on the other students and the teachers. He started to count the discolorations in the carpet on the floor.

"Jace."

Jace rolled his eyes and looked up at the teacher. He had long since given up trying to hide the fact that he wasn't paying any attention to them, "Yes?"

"The head of the school wants to see you," the teachers eyes glittered knowingly.

Jace cocked his head to the side, "Why?"

"Now," the teacher inserted as though he hadn't spoken.

Jace's eyes narrowed. He rolled his eyes, grabbed his backpack and walked out of the room. He wandered in the general direction of the head's office. He had very little interest in talking to them but if it was demanded then he didn't really have a choice. _It seems like I don't have a choice in anything anymore. Or I never did. _Jace glanced into the room Lucy was in. This time they had different classes because the girl was a lot quieter and more attentive when he wasn't around. Jace didn't really mind her company though she could definitely get annoying sometimes. On the other hand everyone was annoying to him so she was on a higher level than everyone else. At least he could stand actually spending time with her. He wandered past the door once the teacher shot him an ugly look. Everyone was more than likely used to him walking out of class and wandering the halls but nobody liked it. The teachers had just given up trying to get him to stop. Jace yawned and finally made his way to the head's office.

"No! You can't tell him! This knowledge could push him to going rogue!"

"He has to know. Who wants to live a lie?"

"He can't know yet. He doesn't understand the rules of this world."

"And if we're right that doesn't matter. It's better that he have something to push him to leave this place. He'll go rogue no matter what we do simply because he doesn't care about those rules."

"He can't leave this place. He's not ready."

Jace crouched around the corner and listened intently to the conversation. _Leave this place? What do they mean? _He slipped carefully into the head's mind.

"What makes you think he's not. You know as well as I do that that redhead he spent last week with was a planeswalker. She must have told him all about it." _He has to leave this place. He's a prodigy and he'll die here._

"I know but just because he knows doesn't mean he's ready." _He can never know. If he leaves then he'll be torn apart. Those worlds are not nice to people like him. He'll lose that innocent curiosity._

Jace gritted his teeth. He walked around the corner and cleared his face of any negative emotion and replaced it with mild curiosity. He knocked on the head's door.

The argument suddenly went silent.

"Come in."

Jace opened the door and glanced around. Lucy's father was the one the head had been arguing with. He cocked his head to the side, "You wanted to talk to me?" He noticed Lucy's father give the head a hard look.

"Yes." the head nodded to him and he left after one more hard look.

Jace hovered in the doorway without moving. He ignored the invitation to sit.

"You're being humored for now, Jace. That will not continue starting from this point on. You have to stay in class. You can't wander the halls or just leave school grounds whenever you want to."

Jace hissed through gritted teeth. He was sitting in the library and had half an hour before Jordyn came to pick him up. Derek was running his face behind him and Jace was trying his best to ignore him.

"Jace is something wrong?" Lucy asked.

"I'm fine," Jace snapped harshly. He noticed her flinch and thought about apologizing to her.

"Haha! Having difficulties dealing with your new life at school huh?"

Jace bit his tongue and stared dully at the book in front of him.

"Derek stop it," Erin ordered.

"Why should I?"

Jace whirled around to face the fire mage. His eyes were so dark they were almost black, "Would you shut up?"

Derek's mouth continued moving as though he was talking but it seemed his voice had shut off at Jace's command.

Jace froze and his eyes widened. "Oh crap," he muttered under his breath. The dark faded from his eyes and was replaced with confusion and slight panic. _I don't know how to fix it! What do I do now?_ He swallowed nervously but before he had come up with anything Derek lifted him off his feet and slammed him into the wall. Jace's mind blanked with panic as the much larger and stronger mage's hand pressed into his neck. _I can't breath! Let go! _Jace gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. _LET GO!_

Derek pulled away from him and Jace dropped. He landed in a crouch and coughed. Derek let out a howl of rage, "Why you!" Jace shot past him and out of range of the flames the fire mage threw at the ground. _Well at least his voice is fixed. _He put up a shield as flames flew at him. Jace had no intention of getting burned.

Erin watched Jace in shock. The telepath's eyes had returned to bright sapphire but before they had been almost black. He knew telepaths and mages in general had eyes that portrayed their emotions more than a normal person's and in different ways. He remembered Jace coming home from whatever he did in the afternoon with eyes like that. He swallowed nervously. He often overheard teachers discussing the possibility of Jace going rogue becoming more likely.

Lucy was staring at Jace in shock. She was obviously remembering the same thing as Erin. Unlike Jace it was easy to see what she was thinking on her face.

Jace hissed through gritted teeth. He led Derek into a corner. Quickly he teleported behind the fire mage and pinned him to the wall with well placed arrows.

Derek struggled violently, ripping steadily away from the wall. The teachers showed up just as Jace's bow disappeared from his hands.

"What's going on?!" the law mage snarled. He saw Jace and just shook his head, "What'd you do this time?"

Jace stalked past him, "Nothing."

The law mage grabbed him by the back of his collar and lifted him off the ground.

Jace hissed and teleported out of the man's grasp. He darted down the hallway and disappeared around the corner.

Jordyn cocked his head to the side. Jace waited for him outside the school grounds. He walked up to him.

"Hey, shouldn't you still be in school?" Conner asked unaccusingly.

Jace shrugged and didn't meet their quizzical gazes.

"Jace come here this instant!"

Jace's eyes widened and he turned around. The law mage was stalking towards him with a look of mixed rage and..._Approval? He's...what?_ Jace stared at him in shock and let him walk up.

"What you did shows just how little control you have over your power and your emotions," the law mage growled.

"Then maybe you should tell the fire mage to keep his mouth shut," Jace shrugged.

"What did you do?" Conner asked.

"I turned his voice off," Jace shrugged indifferently.

Jordyn sighed, "Well that one's definitely new."

The law mage shook his head, "Listen you need to put a lid on those emotions before you go rogue."

"Whatever," Jace shrugged. _It doesn't matter what I do now. Going rogue's my future._ He turned away from the teacher and left school grounds, ignoring everyone behind him. _'It's _ _better that he have something to push him to leave this place.' But according to Phoenix something that ignites a planeswalker spark is traumatizing. I don't think anything traumatizing has happened to me. Unless getting hit by a shield counts. I don't think so. From the examples she used it's a hell of a lot more traumatizing than that. But then why would I not know? Wouldn't I know if I was a planeswalker? If I was then wouldn't I be able to leave whenever I wanted to? 'Getting out of trouble is as easy as picturing another world in your head and willing yourself to go there.' If that's true then why-_

"Jace!"

Jace hissed under his breath and turned, "Yes?"

Conner and Jordyn had finally caught up to him. "Is something wrong?" Conner asked.

_I'm living a lie. I may or may not be a planeswalker. I promised Phoenix I'd live my own life but I've never kept that promise because I've never had a choice. Ever. In my life. And suddenly because of some possibility that I don't really mind actually I can't do anything anymore. And I'll bet all the money in the world that if I do go rogue then Kylle will hunt me down relentlessly and take great pleasure in destroying my sorry ass because leaving this world isn't as simple as someone once told me. Other than that. I'm great._ "No. Nothing's wrong," Jace sighed and turned away from them. He stared at the sky and bit his lower lip.

Conner didn't look convinced but didn't question his response. _If he doesn't want to talk right now that's fine. As long as he talks to someone before he explodes then he'll be okay. _"Do you want to do archery today or would you rather not?"

"I'd rather not," Jace shrugged. _I'd rather think. I'd rather be left alone. I'd much rather just not be here anymore. That'd be great! I honestly doubt anything in the multiverse could be worse than my life since Kylle showed up and started making every decision ever._ He wandered back towards the house. Instead of just walking in the front door he climbed up to his room. He laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. The moonglow moth flew out of the jar and landed on his nose. Jace glanced at it before rolling his eyes and turning his gaze back to the ceiling. _Why did that stuck up law mage look like he approved of what I did today? Do they all know? Do they all think I should leave? If I do leave where would I go? 'Well if you are a planeswalker and you can find me then I can show you around.' _Jace sat up. The moth flew off his nose and hovered on the edges of his vision. "So if I do leave I can just find her. And if I find her then I'll be set." _I just have to figure out how to leave. How do I leave? She said that it was simple but that's more than likely after you planeswalk for the first time. So what happens the first time? _"UGH!" Jace flopped back onto his back and glared up at the ceiling, "There are still so many questions I have and she's not here to answer them!" _I could ask Jarvis. But then he'd probably tell me to relax and 'just let it happen when it happens'. Jarvis is just like that. He goes with the flow without fighting it meaning he's not really going to answer my questions to the extent I want them to be answered. _Jace gritted his teeth, "I have no idea if I'm even a planeswalker." _Knowing my freaking luck I'm probably not and I'll just be stuck on this world forever. Or stuck in a grave having been hunted and killed because apparently going rogue is inevitable for me because I just don't give a damn. _Jace sighed and rolled over onto his side. He stared out his window and felt the sharp claws of despair dig into his heart. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	28. Chapter 28

"Jace, you aren't allowed to go wandering through the halls," the law mage chided for the fourth time that day. Jace pointedly ignored him and continued walking.

"He's not ready for that yet!"

"I'm done arguing with you about this! I'll call for him now!"

"No!"

"I'm right here," Jace appeared from around the corner, "and what do you want to tell me?"

"Don't," Lucy's father insisted.

The head of the school didn't spare the man a glance, "If my suspicions are correct then you are a planeswalker and have already attracted the attention of an ill-intended organization."

"What organization?" Jace asked.

"The Black Lotus Assassins."

"Assassins?" Jace's eyes widened with shock.

"The redhead," the head clarified.

Jace stared at them. He wasn't sure he actually swayed but it felt like the world had been knocked out from under him. _Phoenix is an assassin? But her job was to keep me out of trouble! That was what she was told to do! That much is true. There's always the possibility that she didn't know any better though._ His face hardened with anger, "And I wasn't told this why?"

"The Black Lotus Assassins have _never _caused problems in the past," Lucy's father explained patiently, "They don't target people like you. Their quarry is with the rich and powerful that take advantage of others. I do not see any ill intent in their interest in you. She never hurt you and never once got you in trouble."

"She encouraged him to enter the restricted part of the library!" the head snarled.

"But why are they interested in me to begin with?" Jace asked.

"You're a telepath and may very well be a planeswalker."

"They have never targeted planeswalkers specifically," Lucy's father insisted.

"But what about telepaths? A planeswalking one is immeasurably useful."

"I wouldn't know. Being a telepath attracts attention."

"Exactly."

Jace's head spun. He didn't think the Black Lotus had ill intentions. Phoenix wasn't good at hiding anything but then they were assassins and she didn't seem to know much about why she had to look after him. He lowered his gaze, "I doubt it." He turned and left. _I doubt I'm a planeswalker. It's just the way my luck would play out. Given how it's gone so far. Why couldn't I know that though? And I still don't see what the lie part of it is. _

_The lie is you've known this. This isn't new knowledge. Someone's been keeping it from your memory. And you know who it is._ Jace blinked in surprise. The voice was one he didn't recognize and a suffocating presence surrounded him. He saw tendrils of thick darkness rise from the ground around him. His eyes widened and he stepped back.

_This isn't something they can get away with is it? Are you just going to let them keep you here? Chained to a life and a world you despise?_

"JACE!"

Jace blinked and looked up. He saw Erin, Lucy and the law and lightning mage teachers leaning over him. He was on his knees on the ground. The world spun and twisted around him.

_Will you let them get away with it?_

_No._ Jace promised darkly. _No they won't get away with it._ He swallowed uneasily, "Sorry to worry you."

"I told you that you couldn't go wandering the halls," the law mage hissed, "What if the two of us hadn't come looking for you?" He nodded to the lightning mage instructor. His gaze turned to Lucy and Erin, "And what if these two hadn't found you?"

Jace shrank under his smoldering anger. He had never seen the law mage like this and that terrified him, "I-I'm sorry."

"I've sent a message to your family to come pick you up," the law mage snarled. He got to his feet and looked Jace over, "You're not to do anything for the rest of the day."

Jace nodded quickly, "Yes Sir."

Erin and Lucy exchanged shocked glances. Erin noted that Jace looked very shaken. He looked uncertain. He couldn't help but worry about his friend. He often heard the teachers fret about him going rogue. He knew it was a definite possibility with Jace but the young telepath didn't seem to consider it as a bad option.

Jace was distracted and definitely not paying attention to either of his friends while they walked with him to just outside the school grounds.

Kylle stalked up to him, followed quickly by Jordyn.

Jace's eyes narrowed and his face hardened into a cold glare.

"Let's go," Kylle snarled.

Jace remained where he was stubbornly, "I'm not going home."

"We were told to bring you home and that you weren't to do anything today," Jordyn explained.

"I know," Jace nodded. He fixed Kylle with a cold glare, "But I don't care." He turned and stalked farther from the city.

"Dammit Jace!" Kylle snarled. He attempted to follow him but found that he couldn't. It was like an invisible wall kept him from following the infuriating child.

Jace felt cold dark anger solidify itself inside him. He knew that it was most likely Lucy's father. He was the only one able to do it. He was a much more powerful telepath than he had originally let Jace and Lucy believe.

Lucy followed Erin back to class, "I wonder if Jace is okay. He seemed really out of it today." _And his eyes were black. They weren't dark blue. They were pitch black. It was terrifying. _

"I don't know," Erin answered honestly. Being three years older than his two friends Lucy at least often talked to him when she was worried. Jace didn't talk to anybody about anything. Erin was pretty sure that was half of his problem.

Lucy's eyes widened suddenly, "Dad?"

Erin looked at her in surprise, "What about your dad?" He knew the girl's father visited often but had never actually met the man.

"Sorry but tell the law mage I won't be in class for a little bit," Lucy turned and darted away.

Erin stared after her in resigned confusion, "Speaking of not explaining anything." He sighed and continued on to class.

"Jace?" Lucy's eyes widened. He was in the head's room. He appeared unsteady on his feet and seemed only semi solid. He was surrounded by blue-grey mists. He turned to face her in surprise. His eyes were wide with horror and shock as he stared at her.

"I thought you were outside of the school?" Lucy squeaked in shock.

Jace stared at her, "I-"

"You what?" Lucy tried to catch him as he darted towards the window. She stopped dead as she realized who else was in the room. Her father was lying lifeless on the ground as was the head of the school. She quelled her anger instantly, "He didn't do this. Jace doesn't have what it takes to do something like this. He cares about people too much to do something like this."

_The innocent never run Lucy. _Her father's voice echoed in her head. _The innocent never run._

Lucy shook her head in a daze, "He wouldn't. He can't. He's too nice."

Erin walked up behind her, "There you are! The law mage-what happened?"

"Jace didn't do it," Lucy said instantly. She looked more uncertain than Erin had ever seen her, especially with Jace involved, "He couldn't have. He doesn't have that type of personality to be able to kill someone right?" She looked desperate to have that notion confirmed but Erin didn't want to lie to her.

He took a deep breath, "It may not have been Jace. It might have been his power. You know too much power can overload and take over the mind."

"So it wasn't Jace?" Lucy sounded relieved.

"I don't know," Erin shrugged, "I wouldn't think so. He's too freaked out by violence of this extent."

"So it wasn't Jace?" Lucy repeated.

"I don't know."

Lucy pushed past him and darted out the door.

Erin sighed and stared after her, "If it was then there must have been something we all did wrong. Something went wrong somewhere." He walked slowly back to the lawmage's class.

The law mage looked him over and pulled him into his office, "What is it?"

"I think Jace's gone rogue," Erin muttered dully. He was still shocked by it himself. He still couldn't see Jace as being that person. He didn't like murder and he didn't care for death either.

"I was afraid of that," the teacher shook his head. Erin figured the teachers knew more of why Jace's life was the way it was then anyone else did. They still tried to control him though. Jace didn't appreciate being controlled and often did the opposite of what he was told as long as he was sure he could get away with it. Erin hadn't seen him outright defy anything other than little stuff that didn't matter. Jace would wander the halls all the time or hang out in the library when he was supposed to be in class. Erin couldn't help but feel that someone pushed this. Something wanted this to happen and he had no idea what it was.

Orriyon's eyes flew wide open. She watched Jace slip quickly past her. Instead of going in the front door he shot up the side of the house into his room. He dropped back down with a backpack on his back and the jar with the moth in his hands. He opened the jar and the moth hovered around him. Jace looked at it, "Go home."

The moth ignored him and landed on his nose.

"JACE!" Kylle roared from within the house.

Jace's eyes flew wide. He shot down the grass outside the house and into the alleys of the city.

Orriyon stared after him, "Rogue. Rogue. Rogue. Rogue. Rogue."

"He went rogue?" Vadanya asked. She glanced at her sister. The blond girl's eyes were glowing a bright white, bright enough to illuminate her entire face. Vadanya's eyes widened as mist curled around her sister. She grabbed her hand, "Orriyon! Orriyon!" Her sister jerked and the glow faded. She fell forward, landing unconscious in Vadanya's lap. Vadanya sighed in relief. _She would've been lost if she ended up on another world. It's better that she stay here for now. _


	29. Chapter 29

Jace darted through the alleys. He came dangerously close to a patrol of the city guard since they'd already know about what happened but didn't care. He could move fast enough that he'd lose them before long. He gritted his teeth as images flashed in his mind. He blocked them out by listening to the roar of the wind. _If I can leave this world I can find Phoenix. She'll know where I am so finding her shouldn't be hard. I just have to figure out how to get off!_ He gritted his teeth. He knew from what he had gathered from the head of the school's mind that he was a planeswalker. He just couldn't figure out how to leave.

_I'm sorry Jace. If I had known things would've turned out much differently. _Lucy's father's final thought echoed in his mind.

_I was used. He was a Black Lotus Assassin. Of course he knew what they're motives were. I was used. I was used. The head of the school used me to get rid of an obstacle. He kept getting in the way. I'm such an idiot._ Jace cursed silently as he stumbled over a branch. He slowed to a stop and looked around. He was in a forest. He recognized this forest as being the same one Vadanya had been attacked in years ago. He swallowed nervously. He cast all the sensory augmentation spells he knew. Suddenly he could see the veins of every blade of grass beneath his feet and could hear the slightest buzzing of the bugs in the forest.

Footsteps approached him calmly, unthreateningly.

Jace whirled around to see the lightning and law mage instructors. The lightning mage held a folded piece of cloth in her arms and the law mage carried a well made bow and a quiver of arrows. Jace stared at them as the two of them approached him.

"Here," she smiled and held out the cloak to him, "It has a magical property that masks your magical presence from any mage that does not specialize in detection magic."

"You're helping me?" Jace asked in shocked disbelief.

The law mage shrugged, "You always deserved more than the restrictions of this world." His eyes had a deep knowing look.

The two of them suddenly began to fade from his vision. Jace stared at them, "Wait! Why are you fading away?!"

"We aren't alive Jace," the lightning mage explained.

"A guide of souls asked us to look after you," the law mage added, "and now that your spark has ignited there's nothing more we can do."

"WAIT! How do I get away from here?!" Jace reached out to them but they were gone. The bow and the quiver fell to the ground.

_Reach inside you. The power was always there. _A gentle voice murmured in his ear. Jace turned and saw the Moonglow Moth floating beside him. He picked up the weapons and slid silently through the trees. He turned invisible so that he wouldn't be seen and climbed up a tree. He gently but firmly shoved the bow between two branches of the tree within easy reach of him and put the quiver of arrows on his shoulders. He fastened the cloak around his shoulders and pulled the hood over his head. He curled up against the trunk of the tree. The moth landed on his nose.

"He went rogue?" Jarvis stared at Jordyn in shock.

Jordyn nodded sullenly, "He went rogue. He killed the head of the school and Lucy's father."

"Lighten up," Conner urged, "You know he'd never do something like that on purpose."

"I know," Jordyn nodded, "I'm just worried about him."

Jarvis smirked knowingly, "Don't worry about him. He's got one hell of a guardian angel."

"I wouldn't call her an angel but that's the role the phoenix plays," Orriyon whispered.

Jordyn whirled around, "When'd you guys get here?"

"Just now," Vadanya said. _He's gone. He's rogue. And I don't know what to do. Kylle's been gone for three days now searching for him. He won't stop until Jace is dead and he'll take great pleasure in finally shutting Jace up. Lucy's completely broken by the loss of her father. She still comes over but she's distracted. She's constantly telling herself that Jace didn't do it. He's such an idiot. He didn't realize that everyone looked up to him so much and now he's broken every promise he's ever made whether he meant to or not. _"This is stupid."

"What's stupid?" Erin asked curiously.

"Everything," Vadanya shrugged, "Jace's gone and everyone's still fretting."

"He didn't do it!" Lucy shrieked.

"I didn't say he did," Vadanya snapped, "I'm just saying that he's gone. He won't be coming back."

"He will come back! He'll come back and he'll explain everything!" Lucy snarled.

"The possibilities are dark and hazy," Orriyon whispered, "There is no happily ever after for this story."

"He WILL come back!"

"If you truly believe that then you don't know him at all!" Vadanya hissed, "Once he's caught he's done! He knows that whether he did or not he'll be blamed. He won't be coming back!"

"Stop it!" Erin stepped between the two of them, "This isn't getting anywhere. Jace may yet come back. The story of him going rogue has not been confirmed. The school will hold an assembly if it is."

"Fine," Vadanya shrugged. She turned her back on both Erin and Lucy and crossed her arms over her chest.

Orriyon studied her shoes. _The assembly and everything in the near future is set in stone. In his anger Jace listened and in that moment he didn't hold back. In that moment he didn't care for the consequences and he didn't care for the lives he was taking. Whether or not he regrets this choice or seals it all away determines his path on this version of the story. There's so much darkness on his path. I'm not sure he'll be able to do it this time. Maybe they won't win. Maybe he'll win. _

Vadanya studied her carefully, "Are you alright?"

"Hey!"

The entire group turned as Kylle and a patrol of the city guard walked up to them.

"You haven't seen Jace have you?" Kylle sneered, "He's been missing for a few days."

"He will come back," Lucy said, "I know he'll come back. He'll come back and explain everything and everything will go back to the way it was."

"Oh, I hope he does come back," Kylle nodded.

Lucy's eyes flew wide open, "You'll kill him!"

Vadanya instantly felt pressure building up around the brunette. She grabbed Orriyon's hand and dragged her a safe distance away.

"LUCY!" Erin cried. Lucy screamed and the entire patrol was torn into bits of dust and ash. The brunette fell to her knees, "He'll explain everything." Vadanya's eyes widened in shock.

Erin looked at them, "Go home!"

Vadanya grabbed Orriyon's hand and darted away. She felt fear the likes of which she hadn't for a very long time. Orriyon started panicking and breaking down the moment they stopped. Vadanya did her best to comfort her, "It's okay. I promise it'll be okay." She glared at they way they had come and her face steeled. _We'll leave this world. It's not safe to be here anymore for us. _

The school had the assembly the next day. Jace slid into Erin's room as he left for the assembly. He wrote a note on a piece of paper and crumpled it up before stuffing it into his empty backpack. He had spent the past week learning to create extra dimensional pockets so the weight of what he carried didn't slow him down. It was in the spell book that he had neglected to give back to Jarvis but he was pretty sure his brother's friend didn't mind. He kept the bow and arrows on his person in case he didn't have time to summon them. He paused. _Let's make what I'm requesting a little easier. _He began to gently and subtly pick apart Lucy's memory. Everyone he could clear without damaging her mind, he did. That included Jarvis, most importantly as well as Phoenix, Erin, and most of the students at the school. He cleared his connections to any of them from her mind and cleared Phoenix and Jarvis completely. He climbed onto the window sill and jumped off. He darted off school grounds and back into the wilderness outside the city. _Now I just have to leave._ He gritted his teeth.

Vadanya packed a backpack full of everything she thought she and her sister would need and then silently and quickly led her sister downstairs. She gently pushed open Jordyn's bedroom door, "Jordyn."

"What?" He asked quietly.

"We're leaving."

"Jarvis figured you would," Jordyn sat up and studied his younger sister's carefully, "You aren't allowed to leave unless you promise me that you'll look after each other and you'll stay as safe as you can."

"We promise," Orriyon nodded.

"Send me letters," Jordyn shrugged, "See you guys."

Vadanya nodded and hurried out the front door. She doubted she'd be able to send him letters but she knew he knew that.

"Where's Jace?"

"Lucy," Vadanya stepped in front of Orriyon and glared at the brunette, "What do you want?"

"Where's Jace?" Lucy's voice was completely void of any emotion.

"I don't know," Vadanya shrugged.

"You do know!" Lucy's eyes glowed with a black anti-light as she lifted her head and glared at the two of them.

"I'm right here," Jace walked up behind her. The only reason Vadanya recognized him was his scent. His voice was dull and defeated.

Lucy whirled around, "Jace." Her voice became dark with uncharacteristic hatred, "You came back."

"I did," Jace still didn't look at them.

_If you're going to leave then go. _His voice echoed in Vadanya's head. _She's not a planeswalker. Once you leave here she won't be able to reach you. _Vadanya grabbed Orriyon's hand and reached out towards the mist. She had never done this before but she pictured exactly what she had seen years ago when she had almost slipped into it unintentionally. She felt it tugging at her, willing her onward. She saw tranquil forests and windblown plains. The world called to her, welcoming her. She felt the ground disappear beneath her feet. She floated on nothing, almost like she was flying.

She landed a moment later. Pain shot through her body as she hit the ground on her back. She looked around desperately for Orriyon. Her sister was a few feet from her, lying unconscious on the ground. Vadanya crawled over to her and collapsed next to her. Her vision faded to black.


	30. Chapter 30

"Well hello."

Vadanya sat bolt upright and glared at the speaker. A young blond woman sat on her knees in front of her. Her sister was sleeping peacefully beside her, "Who're you and what do you want?"

"I am Elspeth and I want nothing. I'm just helping you," the woman smiled softly, "I certainly didn't expect you to wake so quickly."

"How long has it been?" Vadanya asked. She eyed Elspeth warily but could sense nothing but a desire to help.

"A day and a half," Elspeth said.

Vadanya's eyes flew wide open, "A day and a half?"

Elspeth nodded, "Yes. Your sister had a harder landing than you. She should wake up anytime from a few hours from now to tomorrow."

"That's a large window."

"I know. It's hard to tell," Elspeth explained patiently, "Each planeswalker has their own time window. So manage to remain conscious when they land while others do not. It depends on how rough their first planeswalk was."

Vadanya nodded, "That makes sense. Are you a planeswalker?"

Elspeth nodded.

"Can you take us somewhere safe where we can be?" Vadanya asked.

Elspeth nodded again, "There's a town not far from here that I'm sure would be willing to take you two in."

Vadanya felt herself sigh in relief, "Thank you." She glanced at the blond woman, "Is there any reason in particular that you decided to help us?"

"No," Elspeth shook her head, "I help who I can." She glanced at Orriyon, "Sleep well."

Vadanya glanced at the woman in surprise. She spoke as though she knew Orriyon. Elspeth gave no explanation of the comment and rose to her feet, "I'll be speaking with the nearby town if you need me."

Vadanya nodded.

Jace gritted his teeth and teleported out of Lucy's grasp. Being held in place by someone else invading the mind is more terrifying than he had imagined. He closed one eye and struggled to stay on his feet. Her anger and hatred of him now that he had admitted to her that he had accidentally killed her father had given her a serious power boost. Jace refused to use his bow against her. He was going to play this one fair. He knew he probably deserved the justice she wanted to dish out to him and he wasn't entirely sure why he resisted it. Lucy shoved her way into his mind and lifted him off the ground. Jace hissed through gritted teeth. _I'm afraid. I know I'm afraid. Afraid of my power. Afraid of what could happen to her if I try to stop her. I'm not even afraid for myself anymore._ He felt darkness creep onto the edges of his vision as Lucy telekinetically cut off his air passages.

_Promise me something will you?_

Jace blinked and glared at Lucy. He knew his fear would keep him from ever beating her. If he could get away he could run faster than her and quickly get out of range of her mental attacks. Once he lost her she'd be lost forever as long as he could keep moving. Jace's eyes glowed a bright almost crystalline blue. A flash of white blinded both of them. Jace took the opportunity to teleport away. He almost collapsed but cast the spell that augmented his speed and ran. He had no idea where that light had come from but had a feeling that had been him. He had no idea how he had done it but he was glad. He could hear Lucy racing after him with speed granted by rage. She wasn't nearly fast enough and Jace got away easily. He scrambled up a tree deep within the forest and stared at the ground. He crouched there and didn't move. His ears strained to listen and he glanced up into the tree lined distance frequently. He had no idea how far he had actually run and had no idea where he was. He just knew in those moments that he had to get away.

Jace slid out of the tree at dawn. The moth loyally followed him. He had been surprised that it had been able to keep up with him. Or it had found him when it wasn't what he had been looking for. He didn't cast the spell that augmented his speed but quickly slid through the trees. He was hungry but didn't feel he'd be so hungry if he killed something again.

"There you are,"

Jace whirled around and stared at the patrol behind him. Another one quickly came from behind until he was completely surrounded by more soldiers than he thought he could fend off. His eyes widened. _Dammit. I practically ran right into their trap because I was more worried about Lucy finding me._

"You're responsible for the deaths of-"

"I know," Jace interrupted harshly. He gritted his teeth, "What're you going to do about it?"

"I see your attitude hasn't changed," Kylle snarled.

Jace stared at him. _Wait. Something's not right. According to Lucy's memory she completely disintegrated you._ He looked into Kylle's mind and found it completely blank. The man wasn't actually alive. His image was just being recreated to try and spook Jace out. He didn't really appreciate that. _Just let them be._ Jace narrowed his eyes. Most of the troops were real living people but "Kylle" wasn't. He shut the body down and watched the image crumble into dust.

The soldiers instantly leveled their weapons at him. Jace glared at them, "Don't worry. I'll be out of sight and out of mind in a moment." He slipped into every living mind around him at the same time and cleared him from their memory completely. He turned and darted deeper into the forest before they realized noticed that he was still standing there.

Eventually his hunger drove him to looking for something to eat. "I'm sorry," he killed a rabbit. _I have no idea how to make a fire. _Jace sighed, "I am so unprepared for this." He eventually managed to make one by casting a spell that mimicked what he had seen of fire magic. He suddenly realized why every fire mage he'd ever met had been crazy or overconfident. Fire magic had a kind of power to it that he had never felt before. He knew he'd never be any good at fire magic but also knew that the ability to copy it came in handy when he had no idea how to make a fire from scratch. He burnt the rabbit but was hungry enough that he didn't care.

The moth sat on Jace's nose. He was lying on his back on a tree branch looking up at the stars. _I really screwed up. I have no way of fixing it. Why couldn't I have just let it go? Why couldn't I just accept it and let everything be? Why'd I make such a big scene out of my life? Why couldn't I just bow my head and live my life the way they wanted me to? Why couldn't I just accept that I'd never be able to leave? I think being used and manipulated into murder would be enough to get someone off a world. I haven't even blipped out for a second. _Jace closed his eyes, "I give up. I give up."

The moth's bright glow against his eyes woke him the next morning. Soldiers paced through the forest far below his branch. Jace remained stone still. He watched them until the very last one had walked past his tree. He waited many hours longer before sliding gracefully down.

Jace had no idea how long he spent wandering that forest, surviving just for the sake of living. In that time he developed a sort of alternative personality, one that didn't care what happened to anyone but him. As long as he made it out of a situation alive that was all that mattered. The moth never strayed from his side. He was pretty positive it was the only reason he'd managed to hold onto his sanity or what was left. He talked to it and watched it's glow deepen or brighten in response to anything he said, as though it were agreeing or disagreeing with him. He could tell it was disappointed whenever he took down a soldier. He refused to be in their minds when they died, much preferring to kill them with his bow. He knew that he didn't like killing but buried it underneath the reasoning that they wouldn't stop chasing him until there weren't any left. He also knew that that was probably what he had been warned against doing so many times but was past the point of caring. He did what it took for him to survive and protected his moth companion to the best of his ability.


	31. Chapter 31

Jace wandered through the trees, carefully studying the area around him. He now relied on his sight, speed and hearing augmentation abilities more than he relied on anything else. He was listening for soldiers but what reached his ears was a young child's cry of terror. He glanced at the moth which glowed brightly in response. He shot through the trees to see a young boy, probably seven, curled up against a tree. A bear was lumbering straight for it. _Great. The idiot pissed off a bear. _Jace shot forward and slid in front of the kid. Before he even reached the kid his bow was drawn. The bear leaped at him. The arrow slid into the bears open mouth and embedded itself into the head. Jace could see the reflection of the very tip of the arrow just outside the back of the bear's head. He turned, scooped up the kid and shot out of the way of the now falling bear's path. It skidded and crashed limply into the tree. Jace set the kid down in front of his mother and turned to leave.

Before he could the young woman wrapped him in a grateful hug.

Jace froze. He felt every muscle in his body stiffen.

"Thank you so much."

"Uh..." he whispered nervously. He swallowed, "You're welcome. Can you let go?"

"Of course," she nodded. He noticed that her dress looked very nice and expensive and her golden hair was put up in a way that was definitely more fore style than functionality. She smiled, "I'm a part of a caravan on the road near here."

"Oh." the sounds of soldiers caught his attention.

"Hey soldiers," she obviously wasn't afraid. When she turned back to him he was disappearing into the forest.

Jace shot through the trees, weaving between them easily. He shot up a tree and crouched on one of the top branches. He watched the soldiers swarm around the tree he crouched in. The captain of the patrol snarled in frustration, "Set the forest on fire. That should flush the little rogue out."

Jace's eyes flew wide open.

"Shouldn't we check for caravans? There's a road near here."

"I said set the forest on fire. They'll have plenty of warning to pack up and leave. Start the fire on the other end of the forest."

"Yes sir." The soldiers instantly turned around and headed towards the other side of the forest. Jace slid down the tree and found the caravan. The moth glowed brightly in approval of his decision.

"This guy came out of nowhere and saved me from the bear! Then he took me back to Mom and we came back here!" the little boy was excitedly telling his story to those that would listen.

"Really?"

Jace's eyes widened as he recognized Conner by her voice. He climbed a nearby tree and watched the caravan go about it's normal morning business. Everyone was packing up and getting ready to start moving for the day. Jace quickly added up the amount of time it would take the fire to reach the road they'd be traveling on and then compared it to the amount of time it would take the caravan to get out of the forest. _They don't have enough time. _He could already see the smoke gathering on the horizon from the part of the forest that was burning.

"Well, I guess we better get moving," Jace recognized Erin.

"Are you three alright?" Jace recognized the woman he had met in the forest.

"We're fine thanks," Jordyn nodded.

Jace bit his lower lip. He glanced at the moth. "Maybe tailing them isn't such a good idea," he whispered.

It's glow dimmed disapprovingly.

Jace glanced back at the caravan as everything started to move, "You think I should?"

It's glow brightened.

The caravan moved painstakingly slowly. Jace ran up and down it's length and checked the distance of the fire from it. He carefully watched the animals of the forest. They were wary and tense but continued about their daily business. Jace sighed, "This is a stupid idea. What if Jordyn or Conner or Erin sees me?" He glanced at his moth companion.

It landed on his nose.

Jace sighed, "Man."

"I smell smoke," Erin said after a few days.

"It might be a forest fire. We should hurry."

The caravan tried to hurry but it was still slow. _It's still too slow. At this rate instead of the fire catching them during the day when they'll be able to get away it'll catch them at night when they're sleeping. _Jace hissed through gritted teeth, "It was so much easier when I'd forgotten how to care about other people." He slid out of the tree and wrapped the entire caravan in a protective barrier. That barrier blocked out the sounds of the flames. Jace stood just inside the barrier and watched the flames push against it hungrily.

Jordyn walked out into the clearing they had camped in. What he saw shocked him. Jace stood just inside a barrier that kept bright red flames from completely devouring the caravan. He watched the flames slowly die around them and beyond the flames, in their own protective shields, stood Hunters, a specialized group of elite mages and soldiers. They were also called Rogue's Executioners. Once the flames had died to searing embers and ash Jace allowed his spell to fall. He glanced at the caravan over his shoulder. He obviously saw where Conner and Erin had joined Jordyn in staring at him but passed over them flatly. The moth floated by his head and glowed brightly.

"You're the new rogue that everyone wants to see gone," the leader of the hunters smirked, "You've done well for being such a small guy. Unfortunately this is the end of the line for you."

Jace's eyes narrowed, "You almost killed my pawns. That's not the brightest mistake you've ever made." His voice was cold as ice. A somewhat strong wind formed around him as he drew on power.

Jordyn stared at him.

"He's villainizing himself so the caravan doesn't get in trouble for sheltering a rogue," Conner realized. She sounded both proud and saddened by that knowledge.

The hunters shot forward with superhuman speed as a single unit. Jace met them head on.

"I see he's just as reckless as ever," Erin sighed and shook his head.

"What's villainizing mean?" the boy Jace had saved from the bear asked, "And why is he fighting soldiers?"

"He's making himself the bad guy so we don't get in trouble," his mother explained sadly.

"I've never seen such a flawless combination of telepathy, illusions and martial fighting skills. This kid's something else."

Jace suddenly felt a powerful, searingly painful, white spell wrap itself around him. Pain shot through his body.

"Goodbye, Rogue," the ice cold voice was the only thing he heard beyond the ringing in his ears. He couldn't tell if he screamed. He realized he was probably going to die. The realization brought with it a desperate desire to live as well as a darker peace at the prospect of death. Suddenly he felt like he was looking down at himself, floating in the sky above everything that was happening. He reached out to anything that would help him out of this situation. He'd always gotten in trouble. He knew he'd be able to get out of this as easily as he did everything else if he could push past the pain and think. He felt a shift deep within him and suddenly the searing burn was replaced. It felt like he was rolling down a hill where every blade of grass was made of sharpened steel. He vaguely heard voices talking about something. Before he could consider listening consciousness slipped out of his grasp and the everything turned black.

"He'll wake up. He's not dead, Kallist. He's just unconscious."

"He's been out for four days Lili. I somehow doubt he'll be waking up any time soon."

Their bickering was interrupted by a muffled groan of pain and exhaustion.

"He's awake," Lilianna put her hands on her hips and gave Kallist a triumphant look.

Kallist sighed, "Hey. I'm Kallist and this is Lilianna. Welcome to the Infinite Consortium."

"What's your name?" Lilianna asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"Uh...Jace? Yeah Jace."

"That didn't sound convincing," Someone Jace couldn't see growled from behind Kallist and Lilianna.

"He just planeswalked Baltrice," Lilianna snapped, "Everyone's confused their first time."

Jace stared dully at the two people in front of him. He had no idea what they were talking about. He had just managed to remember his name. Everything that had happened to him before this point was a hazy blur. He couldn't recall any details or even names. He resisted the urge to whine pathetically. His entire body hurt and his head spun even when he was still.

"Well welcome to the Consortium," Kallist shrugged.

"If you need anything you can come to me or Kallist alright, Jace?" Lilianna smiled sweetly before pulling Kallist and Baltrice after her out the door.

Jace stared at the ceiling, "I can't remember anything."

_It's meant to be that way. If you could remember you'd be more than insane. You wouldn't even be human anymore. _A gentle voice echoed in his head.

"And not being human is a bad thing?" Jace asked. For some reason he felt that the ability to ignore emotions like guilt would help him a lot.

_Being incapable of human emotion or pretending to be incapable of human emotion allows others to manipulate everything about you. It allows anyone to mold you for their purposes. __It is temporary as well. Once you reach certain points most of your memory will begin to return. Although some has been removed permanently for...security reasons. _

Jace shrugged. He closed his eyes and let everything fade into the solace of sleep.


End file.
